


Skip Beat: The Truth Comes Out

by missycamp



Category: Hizuri Kuon - Fandom, Mogami Kyoko - Fandom, Roko, Skip Beat, Tsugura Ren, kyokoxren, kyokoxtsugura, mogamixtsugura
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Lemon, Lime, Romance, Sexual Tension, costar, make a movie, star together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2017-02-23
Packaged: 2018-09-25 07:08:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9808625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missycamp/pseuds/missycamp
Summary: SPOILERS FOR MANGA TO CH 244!  Ren confesses he is Corn, destroying his relationship with Mogami.  Then they have to make a movie together that has elements similar to their circumstances…and true feelings come out in ad-libbing!  RECENTLY RE-EDITED! Angst, drama, romance, some fluff, ST/LIMINESS AND FULL LEMON! HAPPY ENDING! Now COMPLETE!





	1. Ch 1 The Truth Comes Out

A/N:  I did a loooot of research on Japanese culture for this story and tried my best to incorporate it into the story accurately.  However, some stuff I found had conflicting info so I used what seemed to be the most recent info; some stuff I couldn’t find at all so I didn’t use it or used my best guess based on all my other research; some stuff only applied to Americans going to Japan and not the Japanese people themselves, so I used the same info, assuming it was also true for them.  If you know better in any case of reference you see, please let me know!

Ch 1 The Truth Comes Out

Kyoko takes out her ringing cellphone.  “Moshi-moshi, Tsugura-san!” she says with a smile.  “What is it?”

“Eto…I was wondering…if you would mind coming to my house for dinner tonight after your final shoot?  I have a sort-of belated Christmas/birthday thing for you, since I missed those on my last shoot in the States, and dinner could be a celebration of the end of your successful stint, since I won’t be able to make the wrap party.  It could also be for me, as selfish as that is, to celebrate the end of _my_ series and my homecoming after all this time.  Sort of a multi-purpose party, you might say!”  Ren chuckles.  Kyoko beams.  She had noticed that ever since Guam, Tsugura-san had lightened up considerably, smiling naturally a lot more frequently, and even laughing—her favorite sights and sounds in the whole world.  She is grateful his extended stay overseas hadn’t brought him back down.

“Of course!  That sounds wonderful!”  Kyoko exclaims excitedly.  “What time should I show up?”

“Is eight ok?  I have to go out of town to pick up your gift.  That’s why I can’t go to your wrap party.  Oh, and uh…I also have something important to tell you…er, show you, really.”

As soon as Kyoko heard, “your gift,” her mind went wild and she barely heard the “something to tell you/show you” part.  It disappeared into the back of her mind.

“Really?  Y-you didn’t need to get me anything, Tsuruga-san!  I mean…I didn’t get _you_ anything!”  Ren could instantly tell by her guilty-sounding and whiny voice that she truly felt bad.

“I-I wanted to.  It’s nothing, really.  And I didn’t _expect_ you to get me anything when you were busting your butt all this time.  But if you really want to do something in return…I’m pretty tired, so perhaps _you_ could cook the dinner?”

Ren could _hear_ Kyoko’s grin before she even said a word.  “Th-that’s right!  I can totally do that!  I will make a multiple-course celebration meal for you!  I promise I won’t be late!”

“Well, this _will_ be my first time home in months, and I’ve had my fill of American food for a while.  I’m sure I’ll love _whatever_ you make!  _And_ I’ll need the strength for tomorrow…I mean I only got home just today, and it seems the President already has another project lined up for me.  Apparently for you as well, Mogami; he did mention something, but he gave me no details about either of our assignments.  But if we both eat well tonight, I’m sure we’ll be ready for whatever the President throws our way tomorrow, right?”

“Oh, yes, of course!  Certainly!  I’m looking forward to it!  I’ll see you at eight!”

“Actually, if you’re going to do the cooking, why don’t you leave the wrap party a little early so you will have time to prepare the food?  I mean, if you start the cooking at 8, I just might collapse from exhaustion before it even makes it to the table!  That won’t do, will it?  I will leave an extra key to my house with Yashiro-san so you can come in whenever you’re ready to start cooking.  Does that sound ok?”

“Hai!  I shall do my very best and make sure it is finished by 8!”

“One more thing, Mogami…I really appreciate this.  I can’t think of anyone else who would be willing to do such a thing for me, especially right after a shoot and _during_ the wrap party, and certainly not happily.  You really are something, you know that?  I’m very grateful.  I shall see you at 8!”  *click*

“ _You really are something….you really are something…you really are something…”_ Kyoko grins from ear to ear, Tsugura-san’s compliment echoing endlessly in her mind until she’s back on set.

Kyoko spends the rest of her day between her last scenes in a happy daze, mulling over which dishes to cook for Tsugura-san that he would like _and_ give him energy and confidence for whatever role he would be playing next.  She also wonders what on earth he had to go out of town for to get her for Christmas/birthday/end-of-show celebration.  The thought makes her grin and blush.  After all, only Moko-chan had given her both a Christmas gift _and_ a proper birthday present (Moko-chan was obviously going to be _at_ the wrap party, and no gifts were to be expected by anyone there). 

Kyoko got from her best friend a set of gift cards for her favorite restaurant for Christmas, and a Princess Tiara for her birthday that she thought was absolutely dreamy, leading to one of Moko’s unwanted super-hugs from Kyoko!  The young actress had, though, received a few _Christmas_ gifts from the staff, such as the President, Yashiro, directors she had worked with, and even a few other actors and actresses who had learned to respect (if not like) Kyoko...mostly edibles and practical gifts.  But knowing that Tsugura-san was bringing her something special for both—AND as a congrats gift as well (a three-in-one present!), she can barely think straight!  She doesn’t care if he got her something like a pre-paid ticket for a tattoo!  Whatever it is, it is _already_ special to her.  Just the thought that he thought of her, and in all three celebratory scenarios, was gift enough in her mind.  In the back of it, she also wondered what role the President had in mind for her, too, but Tsugura-san is far more important, so she doesn’t give it much thought.  She leaves the wrap party early, after getting Yashiro’s key, and goes food shopping.  She puts the distracting thought of the mystery gift Tsugura-san was fetching for her out of her mind, as well as any thoughts of her next role, because she needs to concentrate on _her_ gift to Tsugura-san—a special home-cooked dinner!

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Both seated for dinner now, Ren’s eyes bug at the smorgasbord of beautifully-laid-out food Kyoko has made for him.  When he had left a key to his house with Yashiro to give Kyoko so she would have time to cook the dinner before 8, Yashiro gave him a devilish grin and a poorly-disguised lewd comment, though Ren had explained the innocent meaning of the key.  Nonetheless, Ren is now quite glad he had done so, despite the embarrassment.  It was well worth it—Kyoko had obviously spent _hours_ preparing this meal, just for him, making him feel special.  Kyoko herself looked _quite_ happy and proud.  There is no way he could not find this meal the best he ever had.

“Wow!  You really went all-out, Mogami!  This really _is_ a celebration gift!  It looks and smells so good, I’m on the verge of drooling!”  He grins up at Kyoko, who grins back with sheer joy.

“Ok,” Kyoko begins, “it’s time to eat it now!  I _really_ hope you like it!  ITADAKIMASU!”

“Itadakimasu!”

“Oh, matte!  I’m sorry, Tsugura-san!  I was so focused on the food, I completely forgot to get drinks!  One moment, please!”

“No!  You went through all this trouble, the _least_ I can do is bring drinks.  You just sit still and I’ll be right back!”

Kyoko is helpless against that smile.  She could not argue with him when he is flashing her that “happy Ren” face, despite feeling it is a part of her duty as Meal-Maker to provide the drinks as well.  Thus, she keeps silent, smiling at how happy her Tsugura-san is.

Within moments, Ren returns to the table with a bottle of wine and two glasses—one regular wine glass, and another one Kyoko _immediately_ recognizes.

“Y-you kept the jelly glass?”  Kyoko asks, sounding like she is on the brink of tears.

Ren smiles tenderly at her.  “Of _course_ I did.  I’d _never_ throw out such a precious gift.” 

Kyoko is visibly moved.  She is blushing, her eyes shining, and a smile upon her face as she gazes at the glass.

“I know you’re technically too young to drink alcohol, Mogami,” Ren begins, “but I won’t tell if you won’t.  Will you share just one glass with me?  I’d like to make a proper toast…”

Kyoko, speechless, could only nod and smile happily.  Ren fills both glasses halfway.

“Then before we eat…a toast!  To acting success, personal growth, and the formation of real friendships, Mogami!”

=”Kampai!”= they say together, and clink their glasses…then each takes a drink.  Kyoko, having never tasted alcohol before, chokes up on the first sip.

“I-I’m sorry, Tsugura-san.  I ruined your beautiful toast!”

“You didn’t ruin _anything,_ Mogami,” he says with a smile.  “It takes a bit of getting used to, that’s all.  I’m just glad you are here to _make_ such a toast with!”

Kyoko returns his smile, glad he wasn’t disappointed in her for choking up.

“Well…shall we eat now then Mogami?”

“Sure!  For real this time…Itadakimasu!”

“Itadakimasu!”

For the next two hours, the pair eats their fill of the feast Kyoko had prepared, Ren making sure to compliment each dish he tries.  While they eat, they discuss their recent roles—difficulties, overcoming issues, successes, hard work, fun, and learning and growing as actors and people.  It is a very pleasant meal, and Kyoko no longer has trouble drinking her wine.  Little did Ren know that Kyoko is thinking that they seemed like a real couple during this meal—nor did she even come _close_ to suspecting _he_ was thinking the same thing.  However, despite _both_ their efforts to drag out dinner, dessert, and drinks, eventually there is nothing left but the empty, dirty dishes.  Kyoko then excuses herself from the table and begins to clean up.

“Mogami, what do you think you are doing??” remarks Ren.

“Cleaning up, of course!”

“Well please don’t.  You went through so much trouble to make this _feast_ for me…the least I can do is clean up the mess and put the dishes in the dishwasher.  Please, allow me.”

“B-but…it’s not much of a gift if you have to pay for it in work, Tsugura-san!  And I don’t mind, really! Please allow me!”

Ren sighs.  “Very well.  On one condition.  You have to at least let me _help!”_

Now it’s Kyoko’s turn to sigh.  “All right,” she agrees reluctantly.  Thus the two of them clear the table together, get the dishes in the dishwasher, and return to the dining room—tired, but happy--and not wanting to end their night together, despite the lateness of the hour.  It was half past ten at this point.

“I know it’s late, Mogami, and we both need to get some rest for tomorrow—but I haven’t given you your gift yet!”  He grins at her, knowing full well she had completely forgotten about it with her focus having been on the meal this whole time.  He doesn’t mind though; that makes it even more of a surprise.

“OH!”  Kyoko gasps, feeling bad for forgetting.

Ren then pulls a black plush, medium-sized square box out of his pocket.  “I had this specially made—just for you.  I really hope you like it.”

“I already do, Tsugura-san,” replies Kyoko softly, feeling that no matter what is _in_ that box, it far exceeds her gift to him, no matter how much or how good of a meal she had made for him.

The girl opens the box slowly and carefully, making Ren want to scream, “just take it out already!”  But, in true form, he stays outwardly cool as a cucumber.

What Kyoko pulls out of the box dazzles her.  It is a silver bracelet, covered in winged _fairy_ charms—each in a different pose.

Without taking her eyes off it for a second, peering down at it, Kyoko speaks with a hushed voice, “Ts-Ts-Tsugura-san…I-I don’t know what to say!  This is the single-most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life!  They’re all _fairies,_ and with the different poses, they….they look like they’re dancing!”

Ren can’t help but smile widely at Kyoko’s reaction.  He was pretty sure Kyoko would like it, but this exceeded his expectations.  “Here,” he says softly, “let me put it on you.”

Ren takes the empty jewel box and puts it back inside his jacket pocket, then quickly clips the clasp onto Kyoko’s wrist, then tilts her down-turned face up—to see tears welling up in her eyes.

“I’m glad you like it, Mogami,” Ren says with a genuine smile.  “I know it’s late; that couldn’t be helped.  But Merry Christmas, Happy 18th birthday, and congratulations on nailing your last role all the way to story completion.  I’m not sure there is a role out there you couldn’t play, honestly.”

That’s it.  A most beautiful and gracious gift, crafted just for her specifically, to celebrate three different special days— _and_ such a grand seal-of-approval compliment on her acting ability from her Acting God--the man she _loves._ Her glossy eyes can’t hold back the tears _now._ Ren can’t help but be glad to _see_ those tears—the best form of gratitude anyone could ever—or _has_ ever—offered him.

 _“_ Tsugura-san…there…there…there… aren’t any words that can express what this means to me!  I couldn’t show you the entirety of my gratitude if I spent the rest of my life trying!  I will treasure this forever!  Th-thank you oh so much!  My dinner pales so much in comparison!”

“Mogami, you went the extra mile _just_ for _me_ to make the perfect dinner as a gift—and it was the best I ever ate in my life.  Knowing how much care you put into making it while sacrificing your precious time just for me is gift _and_ thanks enough.  That and your appreciation for my gift to you…you’ve shown me true gratitude of the highest level.  I promise.”  He gives her a large and genuine smile.

Kyoko smiles back, happy tears still trickling down her cheeks.  “I may not be able to ever show just how truly grateful I am…but I know one way that will at least make it partially clear.”  With that, she shocks Ren out of his shoes—with a kiss on the cheek.

“That’s the American way, right?”  Ren says with a smile to Ren’s wide-eyed, open-jawed face, her own face crimson with drying tears still evident upon her cheeks.  Ren quickly regains his composure and returns his face to normal, nods his answer to Kyoko, and smiles sweetly at her.

Ren wants this to last forever.  But he has an agenda, and it is already so late.  He dreads it, but he knows he _has_ to come clean with her.  He knows the confession he would be making to her, tonight, will  _hurt_ her, and anger her fiercely.  He knows it could very well undo everything pleasant that had happened this night.  It might even make her _hate_ him.  Return the gift she cried and kissed his cheek for.  Never speak to him again.  Perhaps even seek revenge on him like she did Sho in the beginning.  But the Grand Lie is eating away at him.  He _has_ to tell her.

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“OK, Mogami…I hate to do this now.  Believe me, I really really do.  I don’t want to, not in the slightest, but I _have_ to.  The longer I wait, the harder it gets.  Tonight has been a most wonderful night, and I hate to mar it so, but…if I wait any longer, the guilt will continue to eat at me until there is nothing left inside me.  Please understand that I had my reasons—and I intend to explain them to you if you are willing to listen.  But right now, I have to get something off my chest, even though I know it will hurt us both.  Please prepare yourself for some shocking news.

“Wh-what….what are you talking about, Tsugura-san?  You’re scaring me!  What is it?  Tell me!”

With a deep, dark, heavy sigh, Ren makes his confession—complete with demonstration.

“This, Mogami, is what I wanted to tell—or rather show—you.”  He turns his back to her, pulls something out of his pocket, and then puts his hand to his face twice.  He then faces Kyoko with _emerald_ eyes, and with a quite serious face, removes his “Tsugura” wig, tousling his naturally-blonde hair.

Kyoko’s eyes widen as her mouth drops.  “C-C-Corn??”

Ren sighs, looking down.  “Mogami…your “Corn” is—and always has been—me.  I’m not a fairy prince with magical powers.  I’m just a man.  It was me you met in the woods in Kyoto, me who gave you the blue stone, and me you discovered at the beach in Guam.  I am truly sorry for not telling you the truth sooner.”

After a few moments of painful silence, Ren looks up at Kyoko, speaking her name to her down-turned head.  Kyoko looks up, severe anger written all over her face.  Glaring straight into Ren’s now-green eyes, she slaps his cheek so hard it leaves an imprint of her hand.

“Y-y-you _lied_ to me!  You _deceived_ me!  You _cheated_ me!  You _betrayed_ me!  How could you?!  I _trusted_ you!  You’re worse than Sho!”  With that, Kyoko turns her back to Ren and tromps toward the door.

“Mogami!”  Ren yells, pierced straight through by her “worse than Sho” comment.  He expected the rest, but _that_ …

“Please, wait!  Let me explain!”  Kyoko keeps walking wordlessly toward the door. 

Before Kyoko grabs the door handle, she turns to Ren.  “Oh yeah!”  she yells, digging in her bag, “and you can have _this_ back!!”  She throws at him her previously-treasured blue stone, which hits him square in the chest and bounces onto the floor before him.  “After all, it’s _yours_ , right?  And it’s nothing more than a stupid big blue ROCK!”  She once again turns around and puts her hand on the doorknob of the front door.

“Mogami…I’m begging you.  Please turn around, just for a moment…then if you still wish to leave, I will not stop you.”

Kyoko spins on her heels, still furious…only to see the proud Tsugura Ren completely prostrated before her--not bowing, but kissing the floor!

“Mogami…I know you are too angry to forgive me now, even if I beg…but would you at least let me explain?  You were willing to hear your mother’s side of _her_ story, won’t you at least afford me the same privilege?”

Kyoko wants to scream, “Hell no!  You don’t deserve it!”  But seeing such a proud man in THAT position—in front of HER—she just can’t bring herself to say a solid no.

 “Y-N-Maybe!  In time, Cor-Tsug-whatever the hell your damn name is!  And get up off the floor, it’s embarrassing!”

Ren rises to his feet then, his head still bowed in shame.  “Thank you, Mogami,” he says morosely, with a deep bow.  “I will look forward to that day.”

Kyoko turns away from him again, and walks out of his house, slamming the door behind her.

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As she practically _jogs_ home, quite the distance from Ren’s place, Kyoko’s head spins with questions. 

_Why?  Why did he pretend to be a fairy prince, not just once when he was a child, but again as an adult?  Why did he continue to lie to me, keeping up the act?  Was that blue stone really something precious to him, or just something he picked up out of a stream and handed it to me as a gullible child to make a fool of me?  Why did he claim to be cursed?_

With that thought, a couple of disturbing—yet simultaneously wonderful—thoughts occur to her.  _Why the hell did he tell me he loved me and KISS me, of all things?_

She ponders that for a moment.  _Were they just part of the act too?  I mean he said he needed a ‘kiss of true love’ or something like that to break the curse, but there was obviously no real curse since there was no real Corn!  And just what_ is _his real name, anyway?  Is his Tsugura-san all just an illusion?  I-Is nothing of the man I fell in love with_ real??  _And…and…and what about_ THIS?  _Did he really make this bracelet especially for me somewhere out of town?  Or is it just some cheap trinket he picked up somewhere, maybe America?  He seemed so damn sincere!  So damn happy!  Was he just_ acting _the whole time??_

She removes the bracelet, balls it into her fist, and raises her arm up and back, ready to throw it as far as she can—but can’t quite do it.  She puts it into her pocket.

Tears of pain and anger begin to cloud her vision.  But she eventually makes it home.

Once in bed, Kyoko’s thoughts turn from questions to self-loathing.  _I knew better, didn’t I?  Not to_ ever _fall in love again.  Because_ this _is what happens.  I end up alone, crying in the dark, raging and regretting.  It doesn’t matter that I tried to prevent it.  The problem is I_ didn’t _prevent it, despite my best efforts.  That damn Tsugura-san!  He has hurt me oh so much more than Sho did.  I don’t know if I can recover from_ this _heartbreak.  My feelings for Tsugura-san were so much deeper than those I held for Shotaro.  I mean, I’m angrier than ever before, yet have no desire to take vengeance on him.  I feel far too heartbroken and weak for that.  So what shall I do, then?  Avoid him forever by leaving LME and give up my newly-found dreams?  My new life?  My new friends?  My new_ me?  _All of which…I owe to_ that man!  _It disgusts me!  So maybe then I should just go ahead and bite the bullet and face him at work again as if nothing has happened.  Show him just how good an actress I really can be!  Hm, if I can someday outshine_ him _as an actor, I’ll be getting revenge on him even_ without _it being my driving force!  Maybe then this bone-chilling pain will dissipate…”_

Kyoko sighs heavily, and tries to forget it all and sleep.  But that just isn’t a possibility for her this night.  Her self-talk would not abate.  _But then…why did he just tell me the_ truth _?  Surely he knew how furious I would be…if he hadn’t told me and shown me, I never would have known!  So why now, all of a sudden?  Why did he tell me he was Corn, knowing how I would feel?  He did say he could explain it…and like an idiot, I agreed to listen to that explanation—_ someday— _but how will I know if his explanation is even the truth?  Maybe it will be just another con job?  I just don’t know anymore!  I wish I had told him to go hell instead of agreeing to hear him out!  I don’t want to listen to any more of his lies!_

For the rest of the night, Kyoko cries into her pillow, beating on her futon, and getting no sleep at all.

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Ren is faring no better in his own bed.  He had known Kyoko would be instantly furious with him—after all, he was killing off a beloved friend of hers.  He even suspected she would hit him, and refuse to _immediately_ listen to his ‘excuses’ (as he was sure she would take them at that time if she _had_ been willing to hear him out right away) for keeping the truth from her.  But he had _not_ expected her to chunk at him the special gift he had once given her, that had held so much meaning to her—and himself—before, deeming it to be nothing more than a plain, useless rock…and he _certainly_ hadn’t expected her to compare him to Sho!  “ _You’re worse than Sho!  You’re worse than Sho!  Your’e worse than Sho!”_ The painful words keep repeating in his mind like a mantra, crushing his soul each time.  He holds the blue stone tightly in his left hand, illuminated by the moonlight coming in from the window, staring into it as if it held some grand answer to this serious problem.  He second-guesses his actions earlier that night, telling her the truth about him being her precious Corn, but he can’t bring himself to regret it despite his pain or hers.  He just couldn’t keep lying to her.  He had _hoped_ she would have at least been receptive to hearing his story, if she had stayed long enough to calm down, for if she had heard _all_ of what he wanted to tell her, he believed she would understand and forgive him.  _How naïve of me,_ he thinks, rubbing the mark on his cheek with his free hand.  _But she did say “in time”…there is still hope then, right?  But…what if there isn’t?  What if she hates me so much now that she retracts that one light of hope I have that she’ll listen to me and hates me forever?  What if…what if she_ does _listen, just to keep her word, but doesn’t believe a word I_ say now _?  She’s deemed me worse than Sho, after all, and I can’t say I haven’t lied to her.  I couldn’t really blame her in either case.  It’s no wonder I’ve never been in love before.  I’m no good at it.  And it hurts beyond words._

Ren sighs heavily, sets the stone on the bedside table, turns onto his stomach, and buries his face in his pillow.  “Kyoko-chan…I’m so, so sorry.  Please forgive me someday.  If you will allow it, I will tell you all my secrets so that _nothing_ stands between us.  If I can only have this one wish…”  He sighs again, terribly uncertain of the future—and fearful of it for the first time ever—and _tries_ to sleep.  However, that terrible echo in his head remains, preventing it from happening.

**QQQQQQQQQQQQ**


	2. Chapter 2:  Scene One

A/N:  For the next three chapters, there will be a little bit of repetition because I wrote three actual script scenes, then how Ren and Kyoko actually do them with their ad-libbing to show the difference.  These scenes are short, though, so please bear with them.  There will be more scenes later, but they are short too and only _reference_ the script; I didn’t write actual scripts for those.  But for those of you who don’t know:   scripts are not written the way a story is.  The character name is given with only the most basic emotions and body movements in them, and the spoken lines are indented.  I could not figure out how to indent the dialogue, so I put the names/instructions in bold, and italicized the text.  Best I could do!

Ch 2 Scene One

When they run into each other at work the next day, Kyoko goes into actress mode, and uses the fake smile and false politeness she had learned from Ren, but he can _feel_ her iciness behind it.  Nonetheless, they had both been summoned to Takarada’s office.

Greetings out of the way, the President gets right down to business.  “I’ve called you both in here today to tell you about a new project I want you both to consider.  Kyoko, if you accept the part, you’ll finally get to make your debut as a leading lady in a movie!”

Kyoko jumps to her feet, thrilled, forgetting about the man seated beside her.  “R-really?!  I’ll do it!  I’ll do it!” 

“You’ll be working opposite Ren here,” Takarada adds.  The smile she had when she rose to her feet disappears, and she plops down into her seat.

Takarada knew something was wrong between them when they first came in, both looking miserable.  But he thinks making this movie together could be the answer.

“It’s going to be directed by someone you both already know, Director Ogata.  However…Ogata-san feels that the characters are too two-dimensional.  He’s says it’s a good story overall, but too lifeless.  So he has asked for the two of you in particular to liven it up.  The both of you impressed him with your performances in Dark Moon, so he has asked for you in particular.  However, he wants to film this one differently than usual—as in, never been done before—in order to get the freshest and most unique takes on the characters as possible.  Even with me supporting him, we almost didn’t get the go-ahead from the producers, it’s such a radical idea.”

Kyoko and Ren are more curious than ever now.

“Instead of getting the whole script,” the President continues, “you’ll only get a summary of the storyline and a basic bio of the characters, and the pages of the scenes you’ll be filming _that day—_ you’ll have to be quick about learning your lines and how to portray your characters.  This is an experiment, you see, for a lackluster script.  I know it will be quite the challenge, especially for you, Mogami—but if you two in particular don’t sign on for it, it won’t get made it all.  Ogata will not take anyone else but the two of you.  What do you say?”

“I accept,” Ren says plainly.

“I can do it if he can!” Kyoko replies, forgetting to disguise her anger.

“So…what can you tell us about this movie, President?” asks Ren.

“It’s a drama called ‘The Truth Comes Out,’ about a couple struggling with infidelity.  The husband cheats on his fiancee one week before they get officially married, lies to her about it when he’s spotted, and then only reveals the truth to her the day they sign on the dotted lines joining them legally as husband and wife.  You’ll learn more in your summaries and bios.”

“Takarada-san, I assure you, this is a role I will _definitely_ be able to play!” says a determined—and obviously angry—Kyoko.

“I will do my best, sir,” answers Ren.

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In their dressing rooms, Kyoko and Ren go over the lines for their first scene together.  Kyoko is playing the wife, Shizuni Ko, of Ren’s character, Shizuni Himura.

 **Himura, concerned expression:**   _Ko, I know we just got officially married today, and I don’t want to watch your smile fade, but I have something terrible to confess to you.  I’ve decided that in order to be a good husband deserving of your love, I must tell you the truth._

 **Ko, worried face:**   _D-don’t tell me your father pressured you into marrying me and you love someone else?!_

**Himura, bowing head:** _No.  In a way it’s not as bad as that, in a way it’s worse.  I’m not sure which way you’ll take it._

**Ko, looking away:** _J-just tell me.  Don’t drag it out._

**Himura:** _I lied to you.  Last week…your sister didn’t mistake another man for me like I told you.  I really did go into another woman’s home.  I…I stayed the night.  With her._

**Ko, heartbreak on face, looking back to Himura:** _Y-you mean to tell me…today, on the very day of our official marriage at the courthouse, you’re telling me you had an affair_ one week _before we were married?!_

**Himura, head bowed but glancing up at Ko:** _Well I wouldn’t quite call it an affair.  It only happened once.  But yes, it did happen.  It was the worst mistake of my life and I regret it with everything in me.  I cannot apologize enough._

**Ko, sadly:** _Then…what my sister saw_ … _You cheated on me and then_ lied _about it when you were seen?  Even to your fiancée?  How_ could _you?_ Why?  _I actually believed…that unlike Shino, you actually_ loved _me!  I thought you were different!  I thought you were the one I could trust!_

**Himura, facing Ko with compassion:** _I know you are hurt, Ko, and I know it will take time for you to get past this…but I believe in time that you will.  Because I know you love me, and I know I love you._

**END SCENE**

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_Oh my God what a bunch of crap!_  Kyoko thinks.  _With_ this _kind of reaction, she’ll forgive him in no time!  I mean, she doesn’t even get mad!  She’s like some kind of wilting flower!  I understand having a good cry when you need to, but you should also get pissed, possibly take revenge, and then get on with your life and forget about the creep!  But I guess that’s not what they want.  Guess I’m stuck doing an_ underwhelming _character for a_ boring _drama for my debut!  That sucks!  But at least I’ll finally be the leading lady, after all.  The biggest challenge, though, is going to be having to work opposite Tsugura Ren—as my husband!  Who cheats and lies!  And I’m not supposed to get mad about it.  Harumph!_

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After numerous takes with Ogata saying things like, “true to the script, but not quite lifelike enough, even with you two…do you think you can _enhance_ it a bit more?”  Kyoko is frustrated.  She thinks the characters are too shallow to begin with, especially with this kind of circumstance—which reminds her too much of her own.  Her agitation grows with each take until…

With a concerned expression on his face, Ren begins his dialogue with Kyoko again.  “Ko…I know we just got officially married today, and I don’t want to watch your smile fade, but I have something terrible to confess to you.  I have decided that in order to be a good husband deserving of your love, I must tell you the truth.”

Ko gets a worried look on her face, her smile instantly fading.  “D-don’t tell me…your father pressured you into marrying me.  You love someone else!”

Ren dips his head low.  “No.  In a way, it’s not as bad as that.  In a way, it’s worse.  I’m not sure which way you’ll take it.”

Looking away from Ren, Kyoko replies, “J-just tell me, please…don’t drag it out.”

Ren keeps his head bowed.  “I lied to you.  Last week…your sister didn’t mistake another man for me like I told you.  I really did go into another woman’s home.  I…I stayed the night.  With her.”

Fear turns to heartbreak and anger on Ko’s face.  She turns her head back to Ren, who looks up at her, his head still hung low.  “Y-you mean to tell me…today, on the very day of our official marriage at the courthouse, you’re telling me you had an affair _one week_ before we were married _?!  You animal!”_

\-- _Director!  She just added a line!—_

_\--Shhh!--_

Ren is surprised by Kyoko’s addition to the script, but doesn’t miss a beat.  His eyes fall back down in shame.  “Well, I wouldn’t quite call it an affair.  It only happened once.  But yes, it did happen.”

“Did you really think I’d forgive you on the spot because you confessed?!”

\-- _Director Ogata!  That’s not even close to the script!!—_

_\--Sh!  Just let her be!--_

Ren is shocked by _this_ diversion from the script, but since the director is silent about it, he goes with it.  He looks Kyoko straight in the eyes as she continues.

“You didn’t tell me this now because you want to be a _good man_ from now on, you just did it to soothe your own conscience!  Oh wait, that’s right, you don’t have one, do you?  Or else you wouldn’t have betrayed me in the first place!  You _cheated,_ and then _lied,_ and then waited _this long_ to tell me?!  How _could_ you?  Why?  I actually believed…that unlike Shotaro, you actually _cared_ about me!  I thought you were different!  I thought you were the one I could _trust!”_

\-- _“Director Ogata!  She’s not following the script at_ all _, and she’s using the wrong name for her former lover!  Shouldn’t you be yelling ‘cut’ about now?”—_

_\--“Sh!  Let’s see where she’s going with this…and how Ren follows, if he can…”--_

Ren is really taken aback.  It’s obvious now that Kyoko is no longer doing Ko and Himura, but herself and him.  But all he knows is the script, and tries to get her back onto it.  With a deeply concerned look on his face, as the scene calls for, he replies with his line, albeit a little nervously, for the first time ever.  _“_ I-I know you are h-hurt, Ko, and I know it will take time for you to--”

“Hurt?  Hurt doesn’t even _begin_ to cover it!  You’ve wounded me far worse than Shotaro ever _could_ have!  There is a dagger in my heart with your fingerprints all over it!  I don’t know if I can recover this time!  Dammit, you bastard!“

Kyoko grabs a vase of flowers on the counter next to her and smashes it angrily against its resting place.  She glares at Ren, huffing in anger, balling her fists—unwittingly pulling shards of broken glass into the hand she had flattened onto the counter.

With a look of horror, Ren cries out, “Y-you’re bleeding!  Your hand, you’re bleeding!”

\-- _“Director, she smashed a vase and now she’s bleeding!  You need to cut!”—_

___”Sh!  I don’t think it’s serious and I think the scene is almost over!  One more minute!”—_

Kyoko opens her hand, now feeling the pain in it, and drops the shards of glass out of it.  She looks at the blood again, then picks up Ren’s hand and palms her bloody one onto his.  “ _This_ blood…the blood of my heart…is on _your_ hands.”

Kyoko then exits the stage, leaving a stunned Ren behind, looking at the blood on his hand— _Mogami’s_ blood.

Everyone in the room is silent, not knowing what to think about what they just saw and heard—except for Ogata.  He stands and claps and tells Ren he did a great job of keeping pace with such abrupt script changes, and tells him he’s heading to Kyoko’s dressing room to congratulate her for outdoing the script all on her own with ad-libbing and to see to her wound—which he has to assume was accidental, but that she nonetheless found a great way to use.

Ren thanks Ogata properly, with his fake gentleman smile, but inside… _That was fierce…she said I hurt her more than Shotaro?  That’s the second time she’s compared me to him…Could that possibly mean…  could she possibly…no, it can’t be.  Still…the blood she said was on my hands…surely she didn’t mean…I have to ask her._

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Ren follows Ogata.  Since Kyoko’s dressing room door is open, the two men come in.  Director Ogata praises the young actress and helps her clean her bloody hand.  Ren is silent, looking horrified.  Kyoko doesn’t even spare him a glance, as if he wasn’t even there.

“Ogata-san, it’s really a tiny cut.  It just bled a lot.  All I need is a band-aid.”

“Well I’ll go get you one.  I’ll be right back!”

“Mogami,” Ren says almost in a whisper after Ogata leaves.  “I-I don’t mind so much that you went off-script because I know you’re angry with me, but…what is the meaning of this?”

He holds his bloody hand in front of her face, forcing her to look at it.

“Exactly what I said it did, baka!” she replies without looking at his face.

Ren replies gravely, “That’s just what I mean…were you…being strictly metaphorical?  Or…are you…considering possibly…hurting yourself?”

Kyoko jumps from her chair and faces Ren with fury.  “As if!  I wouldn’t let you do _that_ to me!  I’m not the stupid shrinking violet this stupid Ko is in this stupid movie!”

Ren sighs deeply with major relief, looking down for a moment to do so.  When he looks back up at Kyoko, he replies with a small smile and sad eyes, “No, I guess you’re not.  I should have known better.  I got all worked up over nothing.”  Then, with a sullen face and fading smile, he adds in a whisper, “Well, I guess it wasn’t really nothing, was it?”

Just then, Ogata returns with a band-aid, and Ren leaves the room.

Kyoko momentarily feels sorry for Ren—he looked and sounded so terribly worried and depressed, and she had been pretty rough on him on set, obvious that her words were for him—then remembers why she did so.  Her anger returns as she goes over the next scene.

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	3. Ch 3:  Scene Two

Ch 3 Scene Two

**Ko, depressed, sitting in chair:**

**Himura, apologetic face, approaches Ko:** _Ko, would you please look at me?_

**Ko, turning sad face to Himura, speaking softly:** _Ok, I’m looking at you.  What do you want?_

**Himura, bowing in apology:** _Ko…I told you the truth because I didn’t want to keep secrets from you any longer.  I cannot find the words to express my regret enough.  Might you consider forgiving me?_

**Ko, softly:** _You have injured me far beyond words, Himura.  You cheated on me a week before our marriage, and when my sister told me she saw you enter another woman’s apartment with her, I asked you about it and you_ lied _to me about it.  You only told me the truth about it a week ago, on the very day we were officially joined as husband and wife!  I cannot forgive you._

**Himura, bowing deeper:** _How long must I wait for you, my love?_

**Ko:** _Forever.  Perhaps I could have forgiven you if you had told me then, without the lies.  But that is simply impossible now.  I would simply divorce you if I could, but you know as well as I do that under Japanese law, a woman cannot divorce her husband for an indiscretion that occurred prior to the marriage.  Isn’t that why you waited to tell me?_

**Himura, rising up, surprised face:** _No.  I simply wrestled with my guilt but could not bring myself to tell you…until I signed that paper making me your husband.  After that, I knew I had no other choice as a real man who_ deserves _to be a husband._

**Ko:** _You are no real man.  And you do not deserve to be a husband._

**Himura:** _Ko, I love only you.  I know I betrayed your trust in me, but if you give me one more chance, I promise I will make it up to you._

**Himura leaves room, Ko stares blankly with no expression straight ahead.**

**END SCENE**

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Kyoko is seated in a chair, looking very sullen and angry, gripping the sides of her chair tightly.  Ren approaches her carefully from the front.  “Ko…,” he says softly, “would you please look at me?”  Kyoko looks up, hatred in her eyes, facial features intense, crossing her arms in front of her. 

“Ok, I’m looking at you!” she spits.  “What do you want?!”

Ren bows deeply in apology.  “Ko…I told you the truth because I didn’t want to keep secrets from you any longer.  I cannot find the words to express my regret enough.  Might you consider forgiving me?”

Kyoko coldly glares at him, ignoring his words, for a terribly long and uncomfortable silence.

“You have injured me far beyond words, Himura!” she finally says furiously, then looks away.  “You cheated on me a week before our marriage, and when my sister told me she saw you enter another woman’s apartment with her, I asked you about it and you _lied_ to me about it.  You only told me the truth about it a _week ago,_ on the very day we were officially joined as husband and wife!  I cannot forgive you!”

Ren drops to his knees before Kyoko, head down.

 _That’s not in the script!_ thinks Kyoko.  _What does he think he’s doing?!_

_\--“Director Ogata!  That’s not in the script!”--_

_\--“Sh!  He’s ad-libbing!  Let’s see what_ he _comes up with!  And I’d also like to see how Kyoko will react to_ his _abrupt script changes.  Keep the tape rolling!”—_

Kyoko stares down at Ren’s head, wondering what’s next.

“I know what I did was inexcusable.  I betrayed you in the worst way possible.  But I could have kept my secret from you forever and you’d never have known.  But I didn’t want to keep deceiving you.  I know I don’t deserve it, but please…won’t you at least _consider_ forgiving me?”  Ren turns his eyes up to Kyoko’s. 

 _Oh, that face!  Those eyes…they look so damn sincere!  Even through the contacts…he looks like he could burst into tears at any moment!_   _Makes me want to forgive him immediately!_   She has to really _act_ to react expressionlessly.

“Ko…,” Ren says, forcibly unfolding Kyoko’s arms to take one of her hands in his, looking her directly in the eyes, “ _You_ are the _only_ woman I have ever _loved._   I know I’ve broken your trust in me, but if you give me another chance, I _swear_ to you that I’ll never cheat or lie again.  Those are promises I shall never break as long as I live.”

Kyoko is confused…why did Ren suddenly go off-script?  What was with those ad-lib lines?  And that face…those sincere eyes!  His unscripted words and actions— _and_ that face--seemed so real…like it was really Ren, not Himura, speaking—to Kyoko and not to Ko.  Was he trying to talk to _her?_ Through ad-lib acting?  Or is this to get back at her for doing it to him?  But the eyes…dammit, those eyes!  With what he said while looking at her with _those_ eyes…it seemed like he really meant it, but it couldn’t be true…could it?

All this unscripted acting is throwing her off—confusing her as to whether he is currently Ren or Himura, talking to Ko or to herself.  She is so unsure…but nonetheless, _this is a movie set._ If Ren is simply challenging her--and nothing more--which she _has_ to conclude since she _knows_ Ren isn’t in love with her as he said in his unscripted lines--she would rise to it and meet him at his level—proving to him she is good enough for the role of a leading lady.

Kyoko jumps to her feet, pulling her hand out of Ren’s, now towering over the man who usually towered over her, because he is literally on his knees.

“Ts-Himura!  You say that, but…I don’t know what to believe anymore!”  She flings her arms into the air in emphasis.  She shouts her ad-lib lines, using her current feelings toward Ren to do so.  “You _deceived_ me, when you were the one person in the world I thought I could trust _implicitly_!  Do you have _any_ idea how b-badly you have h-hurt me??”  Kyoko is breaking up with those lines, and real tears begin to fall from her eyes—unbidden, yet working for the scene, so  Ogata doesn’t stop the take.  “You were _right_ when you said you don’t deserve my forgiveness!  Why should I give you another chance?  I don’t even know who you _are_ anymore!  You’ve wounded me worse than my _last_ love, the one you rescued me from!  _How,_ then, am I even to be _able_ to forgive you?”  With that, Kyoko shoves Ren over onto his back and storms off-stage—to her dressing room to calm herself and stop her tears before getting her now-ruined make-up fixed. 

Ren is stunned.  Her ad-lib lines were obviously real, as were the tears.  He truly _hadn’t_ realized just how badly he had hurt her.  And…what she said…again, sure made it sound like the impossible was true—that she loved him.  Not as an Idol Actor--but as a man.  _That thought would be so thrilling—if I hadn’t done so much damage that I may have permanently killed off any feelings she might possibly have had for me…_

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A great applause comes from the entire staff making the movie, now used to and enjoying the script changes on stage (except for the Assistant Director), as Ren gets to his feet and puts on his old “fake gentleman” smile again.

“That was _magnificent!”_ says Ogata to Ren with a grin.  “This scene was supposed to be a melodramatic non-fight with suppressed anger and barely-expressed guilt!  But with your ad-libbing lead and Kyoko’s quick following, the scene ended up showing _much_ more emotion!  The scene you two just created is _far_ better than what’s in the script!  You two really make a fantastic team, Tsugura-san!  The only mistake was when Kyoko almost called you by your real name, but we can edit that out.  You both did an excellent job!  And all in one take, too!  That Mogami Kyoko, Tsugura-san…I think she’s very nearly as good as you!”

“Thank you very much for the compliment, sir.  I’m honored.  And I believe you are right about Mogami.”

“I’d like to tell Kyoko the same!  I’ll go to her dressing room right away.”

“Matte, onegai, Ogata-san.  I need to talk to Mogami for a moment myself; I shall tell her what you said.  Is that alright?”

Ogata thinks that is a very strange request, but he figures it is code for “I need to be alone with her for a minute” so he agrees.  He had noticed such a change in both of them since the shoot had begun…on-screen they were consummate actors, but when not acting, they seemed distant from each other.  Kyoko no longer rushed up to Ren to get advice or a pat on the head, and she hardly smiled anymore.  As for Ren, his shoulders were always slumping, and he kept sighing a lot, despite the fact that he was still always wearing his famous smile and behaved like a perfect gentleman.  Ogata concluded from these behaviors—as well as the nature and intensity of their ad-lib lines--that they had had some sort of falling-out that Ren was trying to mend.  Such a thing worked wonders for the filming, but Ogata worried for the two actors he’d come to see as friends.  He hoped they would soon work things out between them, whatever those things were, even if it meant less-stellar performances on set. 

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 _Normally at a time like this…I’d use Corn’s stone.  But since Corn turned out to be a lie as well as that rock…I have to do it on my own.  But that is what great actresses do, though, right?  They learn to control their_ own _emotions, and put on the emotions of the characters they play.  I will show that Tsugura Ren just what I’m made of!  I won’t let him overwhelm my role in this movie by allowing him to force out my_ real _emotions and throw me off like that again!  That said…even though the emotions were my own and not the scripted emotions of Ko, I think I did a pretty good job of_ using _my real emotions to portray how she should really be feeling right now!  And that’s another thing I’ve learned about acting…it’s normal to use your own emotions to portray your character’s.  Actors do it all the time!  You didn’t get one over on_ me, _Tsugura Ren!  I AM A REAL ACTRESS!_

PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP”Mogami, it’s me.  Please let me in.  Just for a moment?”

“Go away, _Tsugura!”_ Kyoko hisses, deliberately leaving off “san.”

“All I’m asking for is five minutes of your time.  And besides, I have a message for you from Director Ogata.

“Ogata-san can tell me himself.  Besides, I’m having my make-up fixed.  Hanging around my door will not make me change my mind on opening it for you.”

Dejected, Ren returns to Ogata’s side.  “It seems she will only hear your message directly from you, Ogata-san.  She refused me at the door because she was having her make-up redone.”

Ogata smiles.  “Well then…why don’t you come with me over there?  She’ll open the door for _me,_ make-up unfinished and all.  You can simply walk in with me and stay behind when I leave.”  The Director beams at Ren. 

The tall actor figures out then that the director knows something is up between him and Kyoko.  It is a little embarrassing, but he trusts Ogata to keep his thoughts about the matter to himself.  He puts his hand to his forehead and sighs.  _Having to resort to tricks just to talk to her…how far I’ve fallen in her eyes._

“Kyoko, it’s Ogata!  I know you’re fixing your make-up, but do you mind if I come in?”

“Come on in, Ogata-san.  My make-up is finished now; I was just practicing faces for whatever scene might be next—seeing as how _somebody_ has failed to bring me the script pages yet!”

Kyoko’s eyes bug when Ren walks into her dressing room beside Ogata, but quickly returns to “fake normal.” 

“Kyoko, sorry for the delay on the script.  I’ll get it to you as soon as I can!  But I just wanted to tell you what I told Ren…you both did a fantastic job of improvising!  The scene you two created on your own is far better than the scripted one!  Just like the last time!  Please feel free to do it again, if you believe you can top the script!  Unless, of course, I don’t like it.  I _am_ the director, after all!”  He chuckles lightly, hoping to improve the depressive mood in the room.

“Thank you kindly, Ogata-san!” says Kyoko with real enthusiasm.  She rises from her seat in front of her mirror and bows to the beaming director.  “I will do my best not to disappoint you during the filming of this movie!”

“I can’t imagine that, Kyoko!  You’re a better actress than you give yourself credit for!  But if you will excuse me, I must be going now.”

“Thank you for your kind words, Ogata-san!”

Ogata leaves the room, closing the door after him, leaving Ren behind.

Kyoko glares at Ren.  “Resorting to _cheating_ to get in, now, are we?  You really are despicable!  But since you’re already here…what the hell do you want?  Make it quick!”  She turns her head back to her mirror.

“Mogami…I know you don’t want to hear anything I have to say, but I must say at least this much.  As an actress, you take on many different forms and personalities—changing the style and color of your hair, wearing different clothing, modifying your manner of speech, altering your mannerisms, changing your attitude.  Yet as good an actress as you are…I always see the real Mogami behind it all.  You are the only person who has always been able to do the same with me.  You alone could always see the real me behind my every disguise.  Can’t you still do that?  I am only one person.  Tsugura Ren, Corn, Cain or anyone else I play, and even the person I was born as are all one behind it all, just like you.  There is only _one_ me.  Please turn your X-ray eyes back on and see it for yourself again?  Then I will tell you everything, when you’re ready to listen, and you will understand.  That’s all I wanted to say.”

That’s when he sees it.  The bracelet he gave her.  Of course she isn’t wearing it; he didn’t expect she would.  But it lay upon her vanity, unbroken.  He had thought she would have destroyed it completely with wire-cutters and tossed it into the trash, but there it is—still in one piece, not even missing a single charm.  _Maybe I really do still have a chance!_  he says to himself before walking out—with a re-discovered _real_ smile.

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Kyoko plunks her forehead down onto her vanity.  _Why did he have to come and say that, dammit!  He’s making me_ want _to hear his story!  He seemed so damn sincere!  And he’s right…no matter who he acted as, I could always see Tsugura-san behind the veil.  When he ate that Maui Omurice, I knew he was fighting something inside himself.  I saw that person a couple of times in his eyes.  He even thanked me for ‘saving’ him once…and I know it was from that person…and the President even_ told me _he was battling within himself.  Could this type of thing be what he’s talking about?  He is Corn, but is not Corn.  Corn is just a part of him.  When I think about it…ever since he started being nice to me, he acted a lot like what I always imagined the “real” Corn being like.  But then…why did he tell me all those obvious lies in Guam?  He started walking away when I called him that, but then he came back…and the lies to cover up his Tsugura Ren identity began.  But other than that…we had a wonderful time together.  I could never talk to Tsugura-san so familiarly.  Is—is that why he played that part?  Come to think of it…I kinda deceived him too, for the same reason when I pretended to be a guy in the Bo costume—twice—to get him to really_ talk _to me.  But then…what was the_ real _meaning behind the curse he spoke of?  Did he really believe he was cursed by whoever it is he’s been trying to defeat within himself all this time?  Even if it was, though, WHY DID HE TELL ME HE LOVED ME AND KISS ME?!  Were those just for appearances’ sake to keep me believing in Corn the Fairy Prince?  Or…could it possibly mean…no, that can’t possibly be.  Could it?  I mean he said it again during the last shoot, totally unscripted, with such sincere eyes!  Sure did seem like he was talking straight to me…but I can’t believe that!  I mean…HOW DO I KNOW WHAT’S A LIE AND WHAT’S TRUE??_

Kyoko hits her forehead on the vanity again, as if it would make the answers clear. _It was Tsugura-san who helped me become the actress I am today.  He kept the Vain Day gift I gave him.  And he gave me that beautiful rose and this lovely charm bracelet.  Tsugura Ren and Corn and the person he fights against…is he trying to tell me they are all just different parts of him?  Or is he just trying to mess with me?  Dammit!  I am so confused, I don’t know what to believe!_

Kyoko sighs in frustration, her emotions all mixed up.  _I guess I have no choice now.  I must hear his story.  Damn it!  Not knowing is going to make working with him today difficult.  I’ll have to make sure we talk as soon as possible.  Since we’re doing the same movie shoot, I’ll ask him for a ride home, and once in the car, have him take me to his place to listen to his story.  It’s the only way.  I’ll drive myself crazy thinking about all this and wondering all the time if I don’t.  But I wonder what kind of scene we’re doing next?  I have yet to receive those script pages…I do hope it’s nothing too flustering like they have been so far.  Well, actually, they’ve been pretty boring…but with Tsugura-san and I both ad-libbing so much, it’s been pretty damn dramatic!_

**QQQQQQQ**


	4. Chapter 4:  Scene Three

Ch 4 Scene Three

Kyoko shows up on the set just as Ren arrives.  It’s a bedroom set-up. _What the hell kind of scene are we going to be doing in_ this _kind of setting??_ the girl wonders.

“Tsugura-san, Kyoko!”  Ogata says with a smile as he hands each of them some papers.  “I’m sorry I’m late with today’s last scene-pages.  Do you two think you can memorize your lines by seven, right after dinner?  That’s when we’re scheduled to shoot.”

“Of course, Ogata-san,” Ren replies, Kyoko echoing the sentiment.  Both actors immediately silently read through their scenes to see what they are in for tonight while Ogata stands nearby, discussing something with a crew member. 

Kyoko’s mouth falls open.  “O-Ogata-san, sir, pardon me, but uh…I can’t do this!  It’s a _love scene!”_

“Oh, well you see, we only have this set for today so it has to be done today.  Surely your experience has showed you that acting means doing many scenes out-of-sequence.  I know you were probably prepared for more negativity, but this is the make-up scene we’re doing tonight.  We’ll go back to the more dramatic stuff tomorrow.”

“B-b-but…I’m only 18!”

“It’s ok, I already have parental consent for your debut, which includes this type of scene.  President Takarada saw to that.  And I know you’re nervous since you’ve never done one before, but this one isn’t particularly racy or anything, so I’m sure you’ll do fine.  But if you do have a hard time with it, we will reshoot as many times as it takes, so don’t worry about it, okay?”

Kyoko’s eyes bug.  “Re-reshoot??  Multiple times??”

“Whatever it takes to get the best scene out of both of you, right?”  With that, Ogata disappears from the set with a mischievous smile.

“So…do you think you can handle this, Mogami?” says Ren flatly, staring down at his pages.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?  Of course I can!  There isn’t a scene I _can’t_ do, no matter _how_ distasteful and difficult!  As an actor, I’m a better liar than _you_ are!”

Punch in the gut.  _I guess I asked for that.  But I hope that I myself can handle this scene with Mogami!  I’m in love with her and she hates me.  This isn’t going to be easy for either one of us.  I hope we’re_ both _good enough actors to do this scene believably.  I haven’t doubted myself as an actor since I first got into the biz--with the exception of the role of Katsuki—but this is the first time my costar is a woman I’m seriously in love with…who happens to hate my guts at the moment._  He sighs heavily.

Kyoko, still reading her script pages, is walking angrily away from Ren, toward her dressing room.

“Mogami…wait just a moment.”

“What is it?” the girl replies coldly, stopping to glare into Ren’s eyes.

“I know how difficult this scene will be for you.  But whether it’s because you hate me or you’re embarrassed, your cheeks will naturally flush…something the most seasoned actress can’t do.  You will shine in this scene.”  He dares to smile at her, a real one, because he really does believe in her.

Kyoko, still confused and angry and hurt, but weak against that real smile, thanks him simply; then runs away to her dressing room as fast as she can to escape him—her heart beating wildly.  _He…he encouraged me!  And gave me a REAL smile!  Could I be…going too hard on him?  Well…if I can just get through this scene…I’ll hear his story afterwards and decide then._   Then she tries to put the matter out of her mind as best she can to memorize her lines.

Ren continues to smile genuinely.  “She thanked me.  It was a short, informal one—but it was real.  Maybe…she is starting to hear what I’m trying to tell her?”  With that happy thought in his mind, Ren goes to his _own_ dressing room to learn his scenes as well.

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**Ko showers, puts on short V-neck sleepshirt and yukata robe, enters bedroom, finds Himura there, shirt unbuttoned**

**Ko, surprised and angry:** _What are you doing in here?!  This is_ my _bedroom!  You sleep on the couch and get your clothes from the hall closet!_

**Himura, slowly approaching Ko, inching her toward wall:** _It’s been six months, Ko.  I haven’t cheated or lied in all that time.  I’ve cooked for you instead of the other way around—despite your insistence that it all tastes like garbage.  I’ve done all the housework.  All the laundry.  All the yardwork.  Everything, all for you.  All while going to work every day to support you.  I’ve tried so hard to prove my love to you…Don’t you think it’s time to forgive me now?_

**Ko, angrily, backing up closer to the wall:** _I’ll_ never _forgive you!  I_ hate _you!_

 **Himura, closing in on Ko, nearly against the wall:** _We both know that’s a lie, Ko.  I_ know _you still love me, despite what I did…and I know that I love you._

 **Ko, flustered:** _It’s not a lie!  I_ do _hate you!_

**Himura, closing the distance between them, pinning Ko to wall by wrists:** _I will prove to you that I love you…and that you still love me._

**Himura kisses Ko**

**Ko resists, moving head side to side to no avail.  Finally gives up and relaxes into kiss.**

**Himura lets go Ko’s wrists to wrap arms around her, intensifying kiss**

**Ko unable to resist anymore, begins to smooth hands over Himura’s exposed chest through open shirt; then slowly removes it with lingering fingers**

**Himura unties obi in back of Ko’s yukata, sliding garment down arms and revealing sleepwear**

**Himura suddenly lifts Ko and lays her down on bed**

**END SCENE**

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“I’m supposed to KISS Tsugura-san and…and… _take off his shirt and feel him up?_ And let _him_ take off my robe with practically nothing underneath?!  How the hell am I gonna be able to do _that?_ I have no personal experience to draw from, and my feelings for Tsugura-san are in chaos right now…I’m really gonna hafta give my all for this scene as a True Actress to get through this.  Especially since I gotta do it half-naked!  Jeez!  Could this scene _get_ any more embarrassing??

OH GOD!  It does!  I just remembered…this is a movie scene!  That means tons of behind-the-scenes people _watching me_ through all this, too!  And _filming_ it!  This is my greatest challenge ever!  But I guess that’s what it means to be a leading lady, huh?

The lines are easy enough to do, but that one part—being that intimate with Tsugura-san the way I’m currently feeling, with a freakin’ _live audience,_ and no prior experience to think about while I’m doing it…this has to be the biggest test of my acting ability yet!  But hey, I created a Mio of my very own, all by myself, and everyone loved it!  If I could create a brand-new character out of the ashes of the former one from the stupid boring script without anything to draw upon but my own imagination, I can certainly do this!  Hmph!” 

Self-pep-talk over, Kyoko begins to imagine the terribly uncomfortable scene to figure out how to act it properly.  But every time she does so, the thought of kissing and touching Ren like that makes her heart beat fast in spite of her misgivings about the man at the moment.  Nonetheless, she keeps practicing it in her mind to prepare for the role, as she changes for the scene. 

She dons the nightie and robe provided by Wardrobe:  A white faux-silk spaghetti-strap slip-type garment with a V-neck around her bosom, gathered underneath the breasts as it is meant to be worn bra-less, and the rest flowing about at knee length; and a deep blue yukata-robe adorned with cherry-blossom décor, reaching just below the end of the nightie and having ¾ length sleeves—with a white obi tied in the back.  Kyoko also wets her hair, as she is supposed to have just come from the shower for this scene.

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Kyoko enters the bedroom set in her costume after wetting her hair, to find Ren in “her” room with a white, long-sleeved, unbuttoned shirt hanging open.

“What are you doing in here?!”  Kyoko shouts to Ren.  “This is MY bedroom!  YOU sleep on the couch and get your clothes from the hall closet!”

Ren replies sincerely and softly, “Wow, you look beautiful.”

\-- _Director Ogata!  The script, the script!!—_

_\--Sh!--_

_\--The Assistant Director sighs.--_

Kyoko is silent for a moment in surprise.  _That wasn’t in the script…was that_ Tsugura-san _talking to_ me?

Inching Kyoko backward toward the bedroom wall, Ren says, “Ko… I’ve been trying  to show you how I feel and re-establish your trust in me the only way I know how, since you won’t talk to me…through my ACTions.”

\-- _Director Ogata!  These two keep changing their lines!  Shall I just throw away the script and let them make their_ own _movie??—_

_\--Yes!  Now hush, and don’t bother me again about the script, please!—_

\--The Assistant Director finally gives up, tossing his script pages into the air, then holding his face in his hands with an exasperated sigh.--

Kyoko is taken aback by the script-change…particularly the way Ren emphasized the ACT in “actions.”  She’s becoming more and more certain that Ren, not Himura, is doing the talking—to her real self.

Ren walks forward a little more, backing Kyoko up very near the wall.

“I haven’t cheated or lied to you in all this time, I’ve apologized the best I could, I’ve tried desperately to talk to you.  I’ve been understanding of your feelings.  I’ve supported you the best I could from the distance you insist I keep from you.  What more can I do?  What do you want from me? _Can’t you consider giving me the second chance I’ve been…been_ begging _for?”_

Kyoko is struck.  The look in Ren’s eyes…the earnestness in his voice…choking up a little on the last line…his choice of _words,_ far from the scripted ones…it is becoming impossible not to see Ren speaking to her undisguised self now.  And once again, he _seems_ to be—quite believably so—indicating that he feels more for her than just sempai-to-kohai—but of course, she still cannot quite believe it.  It seems too incredible to be true.  Nonetheless…the words he so sincerely spoke, seemingly straight to her, leave her suddenly speechless, not knowing how to respond.  But she knows she must find a way quickly, or she will not be able to call herself an actress worthy of being a True Leading Lady—no matter _what_ he really means or to which person he is actually speaking.

“I want to.  I really do.  But when you betrayed me…I lost sight of you.  How can I know who you really _are_ anymore?  You destroyed my trust in you!  Every time I see your face it just reminds me of what you did!  And it makes me _hate_ you!”

Ren pins Kyoko to the wall by her wrists, closing the small gap between it and her body—albeit gently.  “Ko… _I love you_.  And I know you must love me.  Only a woman who could hate so much…could love so much.”

Kyoko’s eyes open wide.  Did he really _know?_  Had he figured her out just through all her ad-lib acting?  After all, he always _could_ see through any lie she tried to tell him.

Ren, still softly holding the petite actress to the wall by her wrists, slowly leans in and gently kisses her on her lips.  Kyoko’s eyes close instinctively as her heart races.  _It’s him.  It’s the Tsugura-san I know.  This is the real him.  Or…at least it feels like it.  But he’s such a good actor…could I be wrong?_ She is still unsure about Ren, and that he might just be testing her with his ad-libbing.  Thus she tries to return to the script, and begins to try to break away from Ren’s kiss, opening her eyes and turning her head this way and that, “mmm’ing” in acted frustration.

Ren lets her lips and arms go and grabs her shoulders gingerly.  Staring her straight in the eyes, with a deadly serious but very gentle look in his, he says, “Listen to me very carefully…I. Love.  You.”  Then he kisses Kyoko again, who, feeling like he just confessed directly to her, doesn’t have the strength now to resist him, and closes her eyes to melt into his kiss.  She doesn’t even realize that she is _supposed_ to be giving in at this point in the actual script.  She’s forgotten all about the script—and the Director, cameramen, everyone.  This is no longer a movie scene.  _Tsugura-san…I still love you... ALL the you’s you are._

The small remainder of doubt in her heart has finally lifted.  She knows Ren had his reasons for what he did, and he is willing—no, _wanting—_ to tell her.  Her heart finally forgives him.  She still isn’t 100 % positive if all those ad-lib lines about being in love with her are true, but she knows now they certainly could be—and if they are, she will know by the end of the day.  She knows now, once again, that her Tsugura-san is a man worthy of her trust.

Without a thought to the script—though the action is actually next up in it—Kyoko unconsciously places her hands upon Ren’s chest through his open shirt and slowly slides them up, soaking in the feel of his skin, never trying to break the kiss or open her eyes.  When she reaches his shoulders, she slides his shirt slowly down his arms, feeling every muscle she knew so well from her “super-sight” (which she had used to make the voodoo dolls of him).

Ren wraps his arms around Kyoko, and unties the obi in the back of her yukata, causing it to fall open in the front, exposing her nightie, though Ren cannot see it for his eyes are still closed as well.  Kyoko follows suit, wrapping her arms around Ren, sliding her hands all over his bare back.

Still without breaking the kiss, Ren does to his female counterpart what she had done to him—he slowly slides her outer garment down her arms, causing them to fall from his back, and thrills to the feel of her bare skin.

Ren then breaks the kiss, and they both open their eyes.  Kyoko’s cheeks are flushed, her hair still wet, her breath rate heavy--and she is standing like this before Ren in nothing more than a slip the Wardrobe Department called a ‘suspender night dress,’ that showed her moderate but sexy cleavage and plenty of leg and arm skin.  Ren does not realize that his _own_ face is flushed as well, and he too is breathing hard.  He is glad, though, for the first time ever, for his freakishly tall stature that caused him to stand back from Kyoko a little to be able to kiss her from a standing position, and loose-front pants—otherwise, he’d have been body-to-body with her, and she would have found out something embarrassing about that time, and it could’ve even shown up on camera.

“You’re absolutely bewitching,” Ren whispers to Kyoko, just before swooping her into his arms and depositing her carefully onto the bed as scripted.

“Cut!”

**QQQQQQQQQQ**


	5. Chapter 5:  More Truth Comes Out

Chapter 5 More Truth Comes Out

Once again, Ogata applauds the scene-changes Kyoko and Ren did, as the two of them come back to reality…both trying hard to pretend that was nothing more than an acted scene for a movie.

“You two are really something else!  Ya know, I was actually _hoping_ you two would diverge from the script and improve it.  It’s a great storyline, but it’s pretty flat.  I asked for you two because I knew you could liven it up!  And you have!  Please continue to do so!”

After thanking Ogata, the two actors head to their dressing rooms to ruminate about what just happened on set as they change into their regular clothes.

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Kyoko, whilst changing, thinks to herself.  _Wow.  While it was happening…I felt like I was on another world!  Kissing and touching him like that was more heart-pounding than I’ve ever imagined!  And I just did it automatically, without even thinking!  It’s a damn good thing it was in the script!  Hell, I’m embarrassed even though it_ was!  _I mean…did he_ know _I wasn’t really acting?  Does he think I’m a perv now?  But then again…when we broke apart…he was breathing hard, which could be acted, but his face was flushed!  He told me just before the scene that’s_ impossible _to act!  Was he really that into it too?  Those scripted words he changed that seemed so real….were they?  I_ have _to know now, as embarrassing as it’s going to be to look him in the face again after this…_

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Ren smiles to himself as he changes back into his regular clothes.  _She wasn’t acting.  I could tell.  I could feel it.  It_ is _really true then…how she feels.  No wonder my deception hurt her so deeply…but I know I have a chance now._

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Ren is about to get into his car when Kyoko shouts his name, running toward him.  Ren is happily surprised.  But once she’s caught up to him, Kyoko feels suddenly embarrassed, her cheeks turning crimson, and she looks down.  “I-I wondered—if I could get a ride with you, Tsugura-san.”

Ren almost falls over.  “O-Of course!  Hop on in!”  He feels like grinning from ear to ear, but with a little (or a lot) of effort, he manages to keep it a small, friendly, un-creepy size.

Once safely out of the parking lot and away from other people, Ren asks, “Where to?”

“Y-your place.  I’ve decided to hear your story.”

Ren’s eyes and mouth drop in shock, but his face quickly changes to one of sheer, undisguised joy.  “You bet!” he replies cheerfully, now _unable_ to hide his grin.

Kyoko fails to notice, though, with her hands folded together in her lap and her eyes focusing down on them as if she were struggling to see them.  Her face is red to her ears, realizing she was now _alone_ with Tsugura-san, in his car, right after a steamy scene like _that!_ She really did want to hear his story now, but she had forgotten about the lovey-dovey-sexy-hot scene they had just done prior to her running up to him and calling his name just like she used to, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.  She is embarrassed through and through, and has no clue what to say.

Ren knows she is embarrassed, though.  He has to take her mind off it and make her comfortable around him again.  He wants to congratulate her honestly for a job well-done in that scene, no matter the reason for it, but knows that could make her so uncomfortable she would change her mind on going to his place to hear him out and insist on being dropped off immediately, right where they are, no matter how far it is from her home.  He has to think of _something_ to say to put her at ease—especially since the conversation they are going to have at his house is not going to be easy to get though.

“Well, Mogami…you only have two months of school left and you’ll graduate!  Are you excited?”

Kyoko is still a bit ruffled and a little uncomfortable talking to Ren after having hated him so much, as well as having just done such a steamy scene with him earlier, but she welcomes the end of the even more embarrassing and perturbing silence.

“Yeah, actually I am…because, ya know, before…I never even thought I’d get to _go_ to high school, much less graduate!”

Ren turns his head to smile at Ren happily, but she barely catches it as she immediately turns her head away from his the moment their eyes meet.

“Do you have anything special planned for that day?” asks Ren casually.  “Like a party?”

“Well no, not really.  Actually, I never really thought about it.  I’ve been so focused on just getting my work done, for school and work, I hadn’t thought that far ahead.  Even if I wanted to have a party, though, I don’t really have any friends at school; my only friends are from work.  So it’s not like I could have a real teen bash or anything.  But that’s ok.  Just graduation is celebration enough for me!”  Without thinking, Kyoko’s happiness at that thought causes her to forget her discomfort, and she turns her head to Ren to smile at him—to catch him smiling back at her.

_He seems just like his regular self—the Tsugura-san I know.  That smile is real.  I’m glad I’ve decided to hear him out.  I’m sure there are a lot of things I don’t know about him…things I’ve always been curious about, wanted to know about…and now he wants to tell me of his own free will.  I actually feel privileged.  I’m an idiot for taking this long to realize that._

“Ts-Tsugura-san?”

“Hm?

“I-I just wanted to apologize for being such a bitch to you.  I don’t know what you’re going to tell me, but…I know you really never meant me any harm.  I should have immediately heard you out instead of getting all bent out of shape.  I’m sorry I lost sight of my trust in you.”

Ren’s face pinks a little, but the corners of his mouth turn up.

“Thank you for that, Mogami.  You don’t know what it means to me to hear you say that.  Losing your trust in me was quite painful, though I realize it was my own fault.  But there will be no more secrets after today.  Then we can put all this behind us.  Like a bad dream.”  He turns to her and smiles again, and Kyoko returns it—both smiles equally sunny.

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“Hey, we’re here!” announces Ren.  “Talking while driving sure makes the trip seem a lot shorter, huh?”

Kyoko nods in agreement.  The pair leave their shoes in the genkan shoe-box and their jackets on the coat tree, then enter the house and flip on the lights. 

“I’ll make us some tea, Mogami.  Go ahead and relax on the couch.  This won’t take long.”

While Kyoko awaits her hot tea, she takes a look at the magazines on Ren’s coffee table.  Along with some magazines obviously meant for male readers, she finds a few with her own picture—small though they were—on their covers.  _Has…has he been buying women’s magazines to read about_ me??  She quickly puts them down and rearranges them as they were when she hears Ren coming in from the kitchen.

After drinking their tea and making small talk, getting a little more comfortable with one another again, Ren finally summons his courage to broach the unpleasant subject matter due to be spoken about.  Setting his empty cup down, his face turns dark and serious.

“Well,” he begins, “I’m…I’m not exactly sure where to start, Mogami…there’s so much to tell…”

“Why don’t you start at the beginning then?  From birth to now…tell me everything you’ve gone through like weaving a timeline for me.  Would that be alright?”  Kyoko puts a comforting hand on Ren’s knee, a sympathetic look on her face.

“Sure, but…I can’t guarantee you I can stay exactly on the timeline…I might do a little back-and-forthing…but I will do my best.”  Ren takes in a deep breath.  “I was born Hizuri Kuon.  Son of Hizuri Juliena, a Russian model and actress, and Hizuri Kuu, the famous Japanese/American actor also known as Hozu Shuuhei.  You’ve actually _met_ my father…you played a ten-year-old me for him.  And you did a good job, too, from what I saw!”  Ren smiles nervously.

“Oh, whoa,” remarks Kyoko.  “To think I had no idea!  Wow!  Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.  Please continue.”

“I got involved in acting from a young age—guess I inherited my father’s love of it—but I kept getting fired and rejected from jobs.  Sometimes due to my own mistakes, but oftentimes, just because nobody wanted to hire the son of someone famous and get accused of doing special favors, and I wasn’t too happy with people thinking I was making it on my dad’s coat-tails.  So to escape my father’s shadow and make it as an actor on my own, I moved from America to Japan when I was 15 and became Tsugura Ren. But you saw the real me and heard my real name before that, when I was ten, in Kyoto for just a few days visiting Japan with my dad.  You misheard me and called me ‘Corn’ but I didn’t mind so I didn’t correct you.  I never meant for you to take me for a fairy, but…you were crying when you first showed up.  And when you saw me and thought I was a fairy, your tears immediately dried, you smiled so big, and your eyes shone.  It made you so happy, and I knew I would only be in Kyoto for a few days, so I didn’t think there would be any harm in playing that part for you, so I did.  I never would have guessed I’d run into you again in the future!”  Ren laughs nervously at the irony, and Kyoko echoes him.

“In America, when I was young, I was very gentle.  But I started getting bullied for my Japanese blood.  It made me feel so helpless and weak.  And I was very frustrated at never getting any roles because of my blood as well, being the son of such a well-known actor.  Anger began to grow in me.  Eventually, a personal friend of the family’s, a man named Rick, with a wife and a bright future, whom I cared very much for, started teaching me martial arts to defend myself against bullies.  But the anger inside me just kept growing—until I _became_ the bully, who went _looking_ for trouble, and _enjoyed_ fighting.  It made me feel powerful.  I was good at it.  Strong, fast reflexes, training in gymnastic/acrobatic types of martial arts.  I was unbeatable.  So I never backed down from any challenge.  I took up all kinds of bad-kid habits, like drinking and smoking cigarettes, on top of beating people up.  Then one day, when I was 15, I was challenged to a drag race.  I was running at top speed and leaving the other guy in the dust—but I was also running out of road and about to crash into a building.  Rick and his wife Tina just happened to be on the sidewalk beside me.  Rick ran out in front of me to try to stop me.  I slammed on the brakes—but it was too late.  I hit him.  Tina cradled his bloody, lifeless body in her arms, crying desperately, screaming at me that I was a murderer and that if I had died instead…her Rick would still be alive.  I had always felt cursed by my blood…but I had just killed a dear friend.  That’s when _I_ began to curse my own _existence._ That’s also when I made a vow that I would never hurt anyone ever again.  That’s why I always wore my watch on my right arm—it stopped ticking the moment I killed my friend, and I used it as a shackle to remind myself—if I swung at someone, it would be the first thing I would see, and it would stop me.  But I hated myself so much more after that that I welcomed death.  So I moved to Tokyo soon after the accident, and I found that as Tsugura Ren, I could stop _being_ myself altogether and be completely Tsugura Ren, who in turn could be anyone else when I was acting.  I despised Kuon.  He’s the guy I felt was ‘cursed.’  The one I almost became again as Cain when we ran into a group of thugs, the one you saw at the car accident, the one you kept from killing again as Cain…and the one I tried to force out with the Maui Omurice.  But you, Mogami…you are the one who lifted that curse from me in Guam.  That’s why I’ve been wearing my watch on my left arm now.  I’m sure you’ve noticed…you notice _everything!”_ Ren gives a little chuckle to try to lighten the mood.  He hadn’t faced Kyoko during his painful story, but when he spoke of the watch, he looked up at her and saw that she was on the verge of tears.

“Tsugura-san…I’m so, so sorry.  I wish I had known.  I might have been able to do something for you to help you sooner!”

Ren caresses her cheek, wiping away a freshly-shed tear from it with his thumb.  “Oh, but you have, Mogami.  You have.  It was _your voice_ I heard during that fight with the thugs as Cain, and _your voice_ that stopped me from killing again— _as_ Cain—when I fought with another actor.  It was _your voice_ I heard the day of the accident on a shoot—and _your hand_ that warmed my frozen heart and body and mind.  _You_ were the one there to help me fight off my evil self by sharing with me the Omurice.  All those times, _you_ were there for me.  _You_ brought me back when I was losing myself.  And most of all…it was _you_ who saved me and lifted my curse in Guam.  _You_ are the reason I can now wear this watch on my left arm.  I still wear it as a reminder, I don’t ever want to forget Rick and what happened to him because of who I was then—but I’m no longer _haunted_ by that memory.  Because of what you said to me in Guam—I was finally able to forgive myself…and for the first time in my life, be _glad_ that I was born.  Not as Tsugura Ren, but as Hizuri Kuon—my real self.  I know you were just acting when you said you were a priestess, but you nonetheless still really did rescue me that day, from myself, and made me glad I was born who I was born as.  There’s no way I could ever thank you enough for that.”

Kyoko throws her arms around Ren, crying her eyes out, blabbering apologies about his hard life and not having a clue and treating him so coldly and thanking him for telling her the whole story and griping at him for not telling her sooner.  Ren tentatively returns her hug, and when she just squeezes him tighter, he relaxes into it, a little smile creeping across his face.  But after a few minutes of soaking Ren’s shoulder with tears, Kyoko backs up, crying finally stopped.

“Wait…there are a few things I don’t understand…is it ok if I ask you some questions?  You don’t have to answer them if you don’t want to.  I’ll understand.”

“Go ahead.”

“Wh-what exactly did I say to you in Guam that lifted your curse?  I don’t remember saying anything particularly wise or anything…”

“Well, I don’t have the Total Recall _you_ seem to have, but the gist of it is:  You told me how everything that ever happened to you, no matter how painful, led you to where you are today—like nothing was truly wrong or a mistake or whatever, but more like fate.  You said you were even grateful to your unloving mother and Sho, because they led you to acting and to your sensei in the field, Tsugura Ren.  You were truly grateful, even for painful things, because they led you to better things.  That’s when I realized that even as tragic and regretful as it was, even the accident that killed Rick was necessary for me to end up here—as the actor Tsugura Ren, who got to meet and know a wonderful girl named Mogami Kyoko.  That even the most painful things are necessary to build your future.  Nothing is just chance or bad luck—or a curse.  Everything happens for a reason.”

“Wow, _I_ said all that?  And that’s all it took to save you from your demons?  Kami, I wish I had said it sooo much sooner!”

Ren chuckles.

“What about the blue stone you gave me?  Was it…truly special to you?”

“It was a gift from Rick when I was six and first started getting bullied and losing out on kids’ commercial roles because my dad was too famous.  Rick had told me the same thing I told you about it.  That it was a magic stone that absorbed bad feelings and helps you out.  I treasured it.  But those three days I knew you…you cried so much over your mother and Sho…I thought you needed it more than I did.  Especially since I knew I had to say goodbye to you.  But don’t worry, I never once regretted giving it to you.  OH, no!  Don’t start crying again, Mogami!  It’s alright, really!”

“It truly was special to you, and you entrusted it to me, and it helped me so much so many times for so many years and I just threw it in your face like it was nothing and called it a dumb rock!  Pleeeaaassee forgive me?!”

“Ok, Ok, but only if you stop crying, alright?  Now wait right here for a moment…”

Drying her tears, Kyoko tries to make an inquiry to Ren’s back as he leaves the room.  “Where are you go—he’s gone.  Bathroom?”

“I’m back already, see.  I told you it would just be a moment.  Now open your hands and close your eyes.”

“Okay.”

“Open.”

“Y-you kept it, Corn?  I mean Kuon?  No, wait, Tsugura-san?”

The multi-named man laughs.  “Why don’t you just call me ‘Ren.’  I mean it’s not like we’re strangers, right?  We know all about each other!  I’d be fine with Kuon or even Corn, but it would confuse other people, so I think ‘Ren’ is best, wouldn’t you agree?”

Kyoko’s lips stretch wide across her face, her eyes bright as she cradles the blue stone in her hands as if it were a baby bird that had fallen from its nest.

“Tsu-I mean, Ren?  Are you…sure you want to give this back to me?”

“Absolutely.  It’s been yours for over a decade.  You’re its true owner, Mogami.”

“Say, Tsu-Ren…when I first saw you at the beach in Guam, I called you Corn and you turned around and looked at me.  I only saw a grown-up Corn, but I know you saw me.  Why didn’t you come tell me the truth then?  And why did you start to run away and then come back such that you had to tell me lies just to talk to me?”

“Well, you were a day early in Guam, and that was a completely deserted, remote beach.  I never expected _anyone_ to find me there, least of all you!  I still hated that me then, ya know, I didn’t _want_ one single person to know my true identity…and if I had told you, I knew you would be pissed.  Just like you were when I _did_ tell you.  So I started to walk away.  But when I looked back…you were practically curled up in a ball, absolutely miserable.  I couldn’t just leave you like that.  So I decided to play Corn for you one more time.  I’m sorry for telling you so many lies to keep my identity secret; I should have trusted you.  But I also felt I had to lie to keep you believing in Corn because he made you so happy.  I was actually envious of _that_ me for the first time ever because of it.  I mean you spoke to me so naturally, like a real person…a _friend._ Not some untouchable God.  I had such a wonderful time with you with all those formalities out of the way along with the overdose of respect.  For just one day…I got to have a casual conversation with Kyoko-chan instead of Mogami.  It was so wonderful, I can’t quite bring myself to regret it, even though I know it was wrong of me.  I’m sorry it all ended up hurting you, Mogami.”

“I understand.  I forgive you for everything…as long you forgive me too.”

“For what?”

“For all the mean things I said to you on the set and in real life and treating you like garbage and calling Corn a rock and hitting you with it and not letting you into my dressing room and—“

Ren laughs as he interrupts.  “Ok, OK, I get the idea.  Consider yourself forgiven!”

Kyoko smiles happily.

“Tsu-I mean Ren—man, that’s going to take some getting used to—do you think that—maybe—you could call me ‘Kyoko’ now?”

Ren smiles widely, taking Kyoko’s hand in his.  “I thought you’d never ask…Kyoko.”

Kyoko returns his wide smile…but only for a moment.  Then she takes back her hand, crosses her arms in front of her, and scowls at him.

“Ts-Ren!  I’ve got one more question for you!  If you weren’t really cursed by a magic spell, then why did you make me kiss you in Guam, complain about it, and then kiss _me?”_

Ren’s eyes bug as his jaw falls open.  He had completely forgotten about that.

Lowering his head in embarrassment more than shame, Ren explains, “W-well…I mostly wanted to thank you for saving me.  Really saving me, lifting the curse I put upon myself.  And…I also…thought that it would probably be my only chance ever to kiss you.”

“I-is that true…Ren?”

He looks up at her.

“Yeah, it’s true.”

Kyoko smiles.  “Well then maybe you won’t mind me telling you one of _my_ secrets then…the reason I considered Corn’s kiss my first real kiss…is because he was using Ren’s lips.”  The girl blushes, but doesn’t turn away.

Ren echoes Kyoko’s earlier question.  “I-is that true…Kyoko?”

The smiling, blushing girl nods her head; Ren smiles back.  “Well, then…”  He takes his lens case out of his pocket and takes out his lenses, revealing gemstone green eyes…and pulls off his wig without care as to where it ended up, which of course was the floor.  “Then can Corn kiss Kyoko-chan again?  He asks with pinked cheeks and a small smile.

“No,” Kyoko says simply, surprising Ren.  His face takes on a look of fear and worry.  “But,” the girl continues, “ _Kuon_ can kiss _Kyoko.”_

Ren’s face relaxes in relief, save a small smile mirroring Kyoko’s.

Ren pulls Kyoko’s head towards his by the back of hers with one hand, and brings her lips to his in a sweet, lingering kiss.  When they finally break apart, Kyoko speaks up.

“You are Tsugura Ren.  But when we’re alone…you can be yourself.  Hizuri Kuon.”

“Thank you, Kyoko.  For accepting me for who I am—no matter _which_ who I am.”

Kyoko looks down.

“What is it?”

“I just remembered something.  I forgot to tell you…I have a confession to make too, and I hope you don’t hate me for it.  I mean I only did it to help you….” 

“What could _you_ have possibly done to anger me attempting to _help_ me?”

“I-I am Bo.  Bo the chicken.  I was in the costume both times you talked to me in it.  I mean I really do understand what you meant when you said how nice it was to be able to have a normal conversation with me in Guam as Corn, because that’s how I felt as Bo.  Those two times…you talked to me like an ordinary person, about your problems even.  I’m sorry I cheated like that, but you just always shoulder your burdens by yourself and won’t confide in anyone, least of all me.  But you would talk to Bo.  So I tried to help you by being him.  Please forgive me?”  She peeks up at him with her eyes, but keeps her head down.

Ren lifts her face with a hooked finger, and kisses her gently.  “Of course I forgive you.  But from now on, I promise to share my burdens with you if you promise to listen _outside_ the chicken suit!”  He smiles at her, and she grins back at him with a firm, “Hai!”

“Come here,” Ren says simply, taking Kyoko by the hand and pulling her into his lap.  She sits between his knees, a leg on either side of her.  Ren’s long arms wrap around hers, and he rests his head upon hers.  “Ya know, it was scary telling you my story.  Other than President Takarada and my parents, only you know everything that happened.  But I’m glad you know.  Thank you for hearing me out tonight and understanding.”

“Thank you for telling me.”

Ren kisses the top of her head.  Then again, a little to the left side.  Then another a little further.  Then he removes his right arm from around hers—to pull back the hair covering her left ear and neck.  Ren’s hot breathe on Kyoko’s ear causes her to shiver involuntarily.  Then his lips—his warm, full, sweet lips—begin to kiss a track across her neck in a downward spiral to the front from the side. 

Kyoko’s breath rate increases rapidly, heat surging though her at lightning speed.  She tilts her head back into Ren’s chest, surrendering her neck fully to his sultry kisses.  His lips make it down to the crook of her neck—then, with the last he can use of their height difference, he stops after one last kiss at the top of her dress…right above the first button, begging Ren to undo it and have a look at that cleavage a little closer up.  But he thinks better of it, and pulls back.  He doesn’t want to push her or scare her off.

Pulling his head back upright—and into reality—Ren whispers huskily, “Sorry, Kyoko.  It’s getting late.  I should probably take you home now.”  With that he stands, pulling Kyoko up to her feet with him, his arms holding onto hers.  She suddenly turns around and looks up into his sunlit-forest eyes.  He pets her hair looking into her cherry face.  Her eyes are wide with wonder.  Ren gives her one last good-night kiss on her lips, having to push her back just a hair to reach her from up there.  Once he lets go, however…Kyoko impulsively grabs him by his waist, giving him a full-on body-hug.  Her wide eyes go even wider at what she feels poking into her body.  It’s the single-most thrilling thing she’s ever felt, and extremely powerful.  It somehow scares her.  She quickly releases a surprised Ren…only to surprise him more by suddenly announcing, without looking at him again that she just realized she had to go home right away and felt like walking tonight.  She’s out the door faster than a sprint-runner.  A stunned Ren is left in a daze.  _Shit,_ he thinks, _I scared her off.  I have to go slow with her!  Of course I didn’t KNOW she was going to get that close to me…but I should really be more careful.  If she ends up thinking that’s all I want from her…it would be disastrous._ He sighs, then decides to take a quick shower before bed—a _cold_ one.

Meanwhile, Kyoko is running aimlessly, not even paying attention to where she’s going.  She’s not even sure _why_ she’s running.  She finally stops at the side of a convenience store to catch her breath, figure out where she is, and most of all—what made her run from Ren’s arms.  _I guess it was just the shock—I mean I knew what it was, and I know it’s normal and all, but for some reason I just got so nervous!  I panicked!  Got entirely self-conscious!_   _What exactly did I think he was going to do, anyway?  I mean_ I’m _the one who grabbed_ him _, not the other way around…he was trying to stop at a respectable time.  Not like he had the intention of raping me or anything.  I shouldn’t be running from the man I love and trust like that.  I probably left him feeling bewildered and guilty.  He didn’t do anything wrong!  I need to explain it to him right away, even if I_ die _of embarrassment, which I surely will, because he does not deserve to suffer on my account.  Besides…I can’t figure out where I am!  I have no choice but to call him._

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	6. Chapter 6:  Speaking and Surprises

Ch 6 Speaking and Surprises

“There you are, Kyoko!  You’re lucky I know my around Tokyo pretty well, you’re pretty far from either my place _or_ yours, and your description of the location was pretty shabby!”

“Ren!” she says with a big smile.  “You found me!”

“Of course I did,” Ren replies, now back in the dark eyes and hair of Tsugura.  “Well you better get in, it’s getting cold.”

As they head towards Kyoko’s place, she summons her courage and speaks up.  “Ren,” she says weakly, her head downturned.  “I-I’m sorry I ran.”

“Don’t give it another thought, Kyoko.  You did nothing wrong.  I understand.”

“Yes, I _did_ do something wrong.  I ran away from you.  I should have…tried to explain.  I don’t want you to think I don’t trust you.”

“It’s ok, really.  I _know_ you trust me.  You just got a little scared, that’s all.  It was quite the shock for you, I’m sure.  It was for me, too, ya know.  The whole experience.  Kinda scares me too, to be honest.”

“No way!  I know for a _fact_ you’ve been with a lot of other women, don’t even _try_ to deny that!”  _Now_ she’s looking at him, or his profile as he drives, her arms crossed waiting for his attempt to gloss over it and move on.

“Yeah?  So what.”  Kyoko is surprised he didn’t so much as try to minimalize the numbers!  At a red light at the moment, he turns to her face and says with honest eyes and velvet voice, “Kyoko, you’re the _only_ woman I’ve ever _loved._ This is different.  _Very_ different.”

Kyoko’s surprise shows on her face at both of his bold declarations.  But he continues, even then, as the light turns green and all she sees is his profile again—but his voice is still sincere.  “To tell you the truth…this is kind of embarrassing, but you’ve borne embarrassment for the sake of honesty with me, so I can too—but truth be told, I’ve _never_ wanted a woman so much in my life.  It was all I could do to stop myself.  So if I get too handsy in the future, don’t be afraid to put me back in my place, ok?”  He turns his head to her with a red face, but still holding it high, with a small smile.

Kyoko knows Ren is trying to put her at ease, but somehow, it makes Kyoko feel ashamed for making him feel like it was his fault.  “Y-you didn’t do anything wrong, though!  _I_ did, by running.  I-I really am sorry.  I think…I think I’m just having trouble believing this is all really true.  I mean Sho always said I was a plain, stupid girl with no sex appeal.  After hearing it so many times, I guess I just sorta accepted it as the truth.  Hard for me to believe you could feel that way about me.”

“We’re here, Kyoko” he says, facing her.  “But I _do_ feel that way about you.  But don’t worry, I’m not going to push you or rush you, ok?  I just want to be by your side.  If anything I say or do bothers you in the future, just tell me, ok?”  His eyes are so genuinely concerned for her.  She wonders to herself how she managed to capture the heart of a man like this.

“Ok.  I promise,” she says with a smile as she gets out in front of her home.  “But before you go…Ren…there’s one more thing I have to say.”  She leans in close to his face from outside her open door, turns to his ear, and whispers, “I love you, RenKuon.”  Ren grins at finally getting a decisive confession directly from her—but he wanted to seal it with a proper kiss.  As she moves her head away from his, he pulls it back it in for one last good-night kiss on the lips.  She smiles at him afterward, and shuts her door to allow him to leave…not really wanting him to go.

Ren begins to back out of Kyoko’s driveway when the girl runs up to the car to stop him.

Through the window, she says simply, “I forgot one more thing!  Something important!”

“What is it, Kyoko?” he asks with concern.

“This!”  Kyoko answers with a smile, pulling something out of her pocket and showing it to him.

“C-could you please put it back on me?  It’s the most precious gift I’ve ever received, and it came from _you._ I’ll never take it off again, unless I have to for a role or doing something that could damage it.”

Ren smiles and happily snaps the jewelry back onto his woman’s wrist.

“Thank you, Ren.”  Kyoko smiles.

“No, thank _you._ When you were so angry with me, I had thought you had destroyed it—but then I saw it on your dressing room vanity in one piece, and that gave me hope.”

Kyoko smiles at him, then gives his lips one _last_ last kiss for the night before he drives off and out of sight.

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Ren awakens to the sound of his alarm, as usual—but also, strangely, the smell of food.  And he also thinks he even hears noises coming from the kitchen.  He jumps out of bed and heads toward the kitchen in his usual black pj’s, calling out curiously, “Yashiro-san?  Is that you?  Hello?”

“Good morning, Ren!”  says a cheerful and familiar voice.  He immediately smiles.  “Kyoko!  What are you doing here?  I mean not that I mind, but do you realize how early it is?  How did you get here?  And IN?  And what exactly are you doing?”

“Well I got up extra early and took a cab here.  I used the spare key to get in that Yashiro gave me.  I…sorta never gave it back.”  She gives him a sheepish smile.  “But as for what I’m doing here…can’t you tell?”  She stretches her arms out at her sides, showing him to look at what she’s doing.  “I’m making you breakfast!  I didn’t know, though, if you preferred Traditional Japanese or Traditional American, so I made both.  It’s ready now; all I lack is putting it on the table.  So have a seat and I’ll be right there!”

“You really are something, Kyoko,” Tsugura says as he takes his seat.

He hadn’t noticed what she was wearing because he was barely awake and surprised to see her there, she was behind a counter when he saw her, and she had an apron on.  When she starts bringing a feast of breakfast choices to the table, he notices she is wearing a dress or skirt of some kind beneath the apron, and a pink sweater covering her arms.  Finally, the last dish is brought out, along with hot tea.

“If you prefer, I also have milk and orange juice like Americans have with breakfast.  Would you like some?”

“Bacon and over-medium eggs with hash browns and toast, sausage biscuits, cold and hot cereals, grilled fish, tamagaki, miso soup, steamed rice…my God, Kyoko, you really went all out!  Don’t worry about the drinks!  Hurry up and sit down and eat with me!”  He grins at her, happy to wake up to her face, with or _without_ breakfast.  Kyoko sets down the hot tea and takes off her apron, hanging it on the back of her chair.  Ren then sees Kyoko’s outfit clearly.  It’s a summer dress _very_ similar in style to the nightie she wore for the make-up scene in the movie, except it is light blue with white flowers all over it; her pink sweater complements it well, and as it is not buttoned up, allows him a rare peek at her cleavage in the center.  He begins to stare slack-jawed, before Kyoko speaks up.  “I-I take it you like it?” she says timidly, her cheeks matching her sweater, smiling without turning her eyes away.  “I-I wore this just for you.”

Embarrassed for staring, Ren looks down, _his_ face now matching her sweater.  “Oh, yes, I do.  Quite.  Eto…I don’t know what to say, Kyoko!  You…you did all of this just for me?”

“Mm!” she affirms.  “Now pick your favorites and eat up with me!  Itadakimasu!”

“Itadakimasu!”

They eat their meal together, making conversation and smiling at one another, both feeling like a married couple.  _And neither minded that thought._

“Say, Ren…why do you even _sleep_ as Ren?”

“Because…” he says with a sly sideways smile, “you never know when somebody will show up at the door—or _through_ it.”

Kyoko giggles.

Once breakfast is over, Kyoko stands up to clear the table.  But Ren has other ideas.  He jumps to his feet, steps behind Kyoko, and runs his hands down her arms.  “Thank you, Kyoko,” he whispers into her ear, making her shiver.  “This was a wonderful surprise.”  Then he takes hold of her sweater at the shoulders and slowly pulls it down her arms until the whole thing falls to the floor.  Kyoko’s eyes close as Ren begins to run his hands up and down her bare arms.  He is careful, though, to stand back from her body so that she will not feel his arousal and run off again in fear.  He wants her to feel comfortable with his touch, not afraid of it.

But Kyoko surprises Ren by turning around…and places two shaky hands on his pajama-clad chest, staring intensely.  She starts to rub up and down, making Ren’s respiration increase.  “Real silk,” she says softly, “I always wondered what it felt like.  It…feels nice,” Kyoko comments, “but…I know something that feels nicer…”

Kyoko then pops open the uppermost button of Ren’s top, sending a bolt of excitement through him, and shock at her actions--as she goes for the next button.  Worried, Ren gently stops her hand with his.  “Kyoko,” he says huskily, “I-I wasn’t trying to…”

“I know,” Kyoko replies, looking up into his eyes.  “But the last time I got to touch you…I had my eyes closed.  I want to see.  And I’m not afraid of you.”  She gives him a small smile of reassurance, and he removes his hand.  She proceeds to the next button.  Slowly, she undoes them all, one by one, until the garment hangs open in the front.  Just like she did on set, she runs her hands beneath the material to feel bare skin, lazily making her way to his shoulders.  She slides the shirt off down his arms, gawking at his skin as she touches it. 

Ren’s eyes close at the feel of her warm touch, his intensified breathing quite apparent bare-chested.  Then Kyoko astonishes him when she steps closer to him— _much_ closer—and wraps her arms around him.  Ren freezes.  He knows she can feel what’s going on downstairs, but he also knows that _she_ would know that beforehand, yet crushed her body to his deliberately.  He isn’t sure what she wants.  He is glad she isn’t running away in fear…but almost feels like doing it himself.  Instead he opts for just letting her do as she pleases with _him,_ but dares not make a move on _her._   This was exciting enough for _him_ anyway.  He feels like anything more would give him a heart attack!

“I know your shape so well I was always able to see it through your clothes,” Kyoko whispers throatily.  “But to see it with my own eyes…it’s twice as beautiful.”  She lays her head on Ren’s pounding heart as she strokes his back.  “I could make this my ringtone,” Kyoko says absent-mindedly.  Ren can’t help but chuckle. 

“I’m serious!” she replies, lifting her head from his chest to look at his face. 

“I know,” he says with a loving smile, “that’s what’s so adorable.  It’s something so uniquely _you._ Only my Mogami Kyoko would think like that.”

With that, he backs away from her far enough to bend down and kiss her.  Revved up now, though, Ren unthinkingly makes a teensy move on her…by sliding his tongue across her bottom lip.  Kyoko gasps in heated surprise.  Ren pulls back.  “S-sorry, I forgot myself.  Eto…let’s get cleaned up.  We have to get to work soon.”

“OK,” Kyoko says breathlessly.  “But…I didn’t mind, ya know.  I…actually liked it.  I was just surprised.”

Ren gives her a relieved smile.  Then they clean up the breakfast mess and Ren hops in the shower.  Kyoko makes her way to work ahead of Ren.


	7. Chapter 7:  Back at Work

Ch 7  Back at Work

At LME, Ren is talking to Yashiro and Takarada when a familiar voice rings out.  “Ren!”  It’s Kyoko, running up to him from down the hallway, waving and smiling.  “Kyoko!”  Ren hollers back, returning her wave and smile.  Yashiro and Takarada look at each other and grin knowingly, then walk away further down the hall to give the obvious new couple some privacy. 

As Kyoko runs toward him, Ren notices Kyoko’s somewhat uncharacteristic outfit.  She’s dressed in a white scoop-neck top with short sleeves that hang off the shoulders and a pink skirt shorter than a schoolgirl uniform’s, but long enough to still be respectable.  It flares around her legs as she moves.  It’s both cute and sexy.

When she catches up to Ren, Kyoko tells him they are due on set in an hour and she needs his help with her parts. 

“Hold on a minute, Kyoko.  First of all, why didn’t you wait for me this morning?  I could have given you a ride!”

Kyoko turns her eyes down.  “W-well, if we showed up here together so early in the morning, people—ya know, might uh…think I spent the night with you.”

Ren’s eyes darken with his voice.  “Oh, I see.  You were worried about your reputation.  I understand.  Well I have to go after Takarada.  I’ll see you on set.”

“Matte!  I wasn’t worried about _my_ reputation, baka!  I was…worried about yours.”  She lowers her head.

Ren puts his hand over his face, covering a small smile.  “Kyoko, I should have known.  You think of _everyone_ else before yourself.”  He then crouches, removing his hand from his face to lift her face to meet his eyes.  “Kyoko, you are _not_ my dirty little secret.  You’re my girl!  And I want _everyone_ to know it!  As for what they think we’re doing…I couldn’t care less!”  He smiles widely at her, and she grins back, on the verge of happy tears.  “I’m not Sho, Kyoko.  I will _never_ treat you like you are beneath me or something to be ashamed of.”

Kyoko’s eyes fog up, and she rubs them dry.  “Thank you for saying that, Ren.”

Ren straightens up.  “Now…what was it you needed help with for today’s scenes?”

“Well, we’re doing more scenes with Ko’s suppressed anger, but I set a precedent already using my unwarranted anger at you to make it aggressive.  It wouldn’t be fitting now to return to the scripted emotions of Ko, and I know Ogata-san is expecting something more than what’s in the script now.  But…I can’t muster that kind of anger at you now, and I’m not sure I’m  good enough an actress to summon anger I don’t really feel while looking at _your_ face!  I mean, if it was anybody but _you_ I could do it, but…”

“Well first of all, don’t see _my_ face.  See Himura’s.  That’s who I’ll be during these scenes.  Second of all…you’re still pissed at Sho, right?  Bring up _those_ emotions, and express them to _Himura,_ not Ren.”

“Do you really think I can do that?”

“I’m sure of it.”  He smiles reassuringly.

She reflects his facial expression.  “But…I’m also supposed to be hurt to the point of crying on my sister’s shoulder in one of these scenes…I only cried over Sho _once,_ and then I turned the hurt into anger.  How do I switch?”

“Just remember how you felt that day you cried.  Bring that memory back as if it had just happened.  Or rather, as if it were happening _now._ This, too, is something I know you can do.  But failing that, just think of something else that makes you cry.  You did it for Sho’s video, didn’t you?”

“That’s right, I did!  Now I have more than one way to make myself feel sad!  I _knew_ you’d know the answers!  You always do!”

They smile at one another as Kyoko thanks Ren again; then they each go to their dressing rooms to prepare for the day’s roles.

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“Director Ogata,” Kyoko says, scratching her head.  “I have a little problem…”

“Yes?”

“Um…in this scene, I’m supposed to be cooking dinner—albeit badly—for Himura and his business partners.  But why would Ko do that?  She’s hurt and angry with him to the point of barely speaking to him, and wanting a divorce.  Why would she do him a favor like cooking for him and his business partners?  Even doing it deliberately badly like it says here, it seems to me that it would still be more effort than she’d be willing to make for her husband.”

“Hm, I see your point.  Well, Kyoko, Ren…do you two think you can ad-lib something to explain it?”

“Hai!” they say in unison. 

“Also, “ Kyoko adds, “the business partners are never given any sort of explanation of why the good meal they were expecting was so bad, which could negatively affect Himura’s job.  Shouldn’t that be explained to them somehow?”

“I guess that would make sense too!  Go ahead and do that!”

Then the scene begins, with Kyoko cooking real food on a real stove, considering she was supposed to be _shown_ cooking badly, and the guests actually eating the terrible food.

Kyoko, being such a good cook, has difficulty, however.  The scene has to be reshot several times because the food she makes keeps coming out nearly perfect.  Finally, Ren takes her aside for a moment.

“Kyoko…I know it’s hard for you to cook _badly,_ but you need to.  Why don’t you pretend you’re cooking this dinner for Sho and his friends or business partners?  Or even his new girlfriend?”

“Hm.  That just might work.  Thanks, Ren!”

 _This_ time, she succeeds.  Egg shells in the soup, burned rice, an overabundance of hot spices on the also-burned grilled fish, broken tea bags in the _boiled_ hot tea.

At the table, she barely speaks (as per the script), and flatly so when she does.  She glares at her husband all throughout, which was _not_ in the script; she was supposed to avoid eye contact with him.  Ogata had been expecting the explanation for the cooking _before_ the meal, but he knows these two actors will make it work before he has to call “cut.”

Ren, too, was expecting Kyoko to say something beforehand, but he trusts in her and follows her lead.  However, by the end of the scene, he knows she is waiting for _him_ to say something to give her an opening.

The actors portraying the business partners were warned ahead of time that the script would not be followed exactly and that some improvisation would be needed, so they were prepared for anything.  Ogata was worried at first they would be angry, but they actually all seemed excited about it.  Actors don’t usually get to diverge from the script to ad-lib and do some real impromptu acting.  Thus, they were ready for it when Ren ad-libs as he bids them farewell at the door.

“Please excuse my wife,” he says to them with a bow.  “She is new to cooking, and is angry with me for asking her to cook for other people when she still doesn’t have the hang of it yet.  She really did her best, though, I assure you.”

The other actors all bow and thank Himura for having them over, assuring him they have all experienced a woman’s failed first attempts at cooking before with smiles on their faces. 

Ogata couldn’t be happier with Ren’s explanation for the bad cooking to the men—and Ko’s glaring at Himura all throughout the meal--or the other actors’ ad-lib reactions. 

The scene was supposed to end at the farewell, but Ogata does not call for it knowing Kyoko still has to explain why she cooked a meal for her husband and his business partners.

“Well I hope you’re happy now!”  Kyoko yells at Ren.  “I cooked your dinner for you and your stupid business partners to protect your job because, since I’m forced to survive on your income, I had no choice!”

“Ko, I don’t mind doing all the cooking for _you_ every day, but this is different.  As my wife, it’s traditional for _you_ to cook for your husband and his guests from work!  It affects my job security!  I know you are a fantastic cook.  You sabotaged that meal on purpose.  Luckily, I covered for you so there’s no damage done, but in the future, could you please take extra care?  You need me to keep my job!”

“But I know it’s only a matter of time!  If you were willing to cheat on me a week before our marriage, what’s to stop you from doing it again _after_ at some point?  I won’t need you to keep your job then!  That’s actually a day I look forward to!  Hurry up and go back to your floosy again a couple of times, and I’ll finally be able to divorce you!  Then my _father_ can take care of me, and I’ll cook good meals for _him!_   At least until I find another man, one I can _trust!”_

Ren sighs, holding his hand to his forehead.  “I’m going out for a drink.  I’ll be back in an hour.  And I’m _not_ picking up a woman!  How many times do I have to tell you that before you believe me?”

“Just go.  Do what you want.”

Kyoko turns her back to her “husband” and begins to clean up the dishes.

“Cut!”

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Ogata thanks everyone on set, raving about the excellent changes to the script.  The Assistant Director just sits in his chair clutching his script pages, looking miserable.  “Experimental” just isn’t his style.  He likes sticking to the script, which Ogata is obviously not happy with.

Ogata is also happy that the problem between Ren and Kyoko seems to have been worked out—without it affecting their acting at all.  He wants to tell them so, but of course that would be far too personal, so he keeps those particular thoughts to himself. 

Everyone breaks, and Kyoko prepares for her next scene, crying on Ko’s sister’s shoulder.  Kyoko is happy enough with the scripted version of this scene, however, so there is no need to warn the other actress about the ad-libbing that probably would have otherwise gone down.

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Higurashi Kumiko, the actress portraying Ko’s sister Lo, goes over her scenes with Kyoko, saving the tears for the actual part of the scene they are called for in.  The two get along well, and they foresee no problems in acting their full scene together.  So filming begins right on time, with Ren standing next to Ogata to proudly watch his woman shine.

Formalities out of the way within the scene—the sisters happily greeting one another—the pair sit side by side on the couch while Himura is at work.  Higurashi’s Lo is supposed to get Ko to stop pretending to be happy for her sake and get her to “cry it out,” then react to her sister’s pain with tears of her own.  Ogata is certain that Kyoko will be able to produce real tears, but not so sure about the supporting actress—though she assures him she can.

But after the two are seated together, having the conversation that is to lead to real tears from Kyoko, the lead actress finds herself unable to produce them just by thinking back on the pain Sho once caused her.  She’s too far over it, and too happy to be Ren’s girl.  After a couple of tries, she asks for a third chance from Ogata, sure this time she’ll be able to do it.

Sure enough, thinking about the video she did with Sho and how she had to kill Moko-chan’s lover and lose her friendship forever, real tears flow freely.  However, Higurashi cannot seem to produce any of her own.  Higurashi asks for several retakes, promising the director she can do it if he gives her a chance, blaming her inability on being unfamiliar with Kyoko and her acting style.  Between each take, however, Kyoko’s make-up has to be redone, so the director is getting a little frustrated.  He offers eye drops to Higurashi, but the young actress assures him she’ll be able to do it with one more take.

“But…Ogata-san…”  Kyoko says, “I don’t know if _I_ can now!  I’ve done it so many times now, I’m kind of numb to it…”  With shame and disappointment in herself, she adds, “I’m not sure I can _make_ any more real tears.  _I_ might need eye drops.”

“Kyoko,” Ogata says, “I have faith in you.  Your mind is quick—you’re bound to come up with _something_ in time!  Let’s at least give it one more shot, ok?”

Kyoko agrees, and the second part of the scene begins again.

Kyoko tries remembering, once again, the scene from the video and how she felt then—to no avail.  There is a pause as she stares straight ahead.  But then it happens.  When she pictures Sho dying by her hand…she suddenly sees not Sho’s face, but Ren’s.  And there they come!  Real tears, more intense than anyone could have anticipated!  It even shocks Higurashi—she feels like she’s bearing witness to a real woman’s true and severe pain.  And with that, she herself is finally able to produce her own tears as well.

Ren and Ogata both smile happily and proudly as the two girls finish out their scene together—totally realistically.

Ogata once again congratulates the actors on stage.  Then they all break for lunch.

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“Kyoko, where would you like to go for lunch today?” offers Ren.

“Any place that has hamburger steak!”  Kyoko answers with a smile.

Ren shakes his head with a small smile of his own.  “But of course.  Well let’s get going then, shall we?”

Ren forgets all about his own food, holding his head in his hand with his elbow supporting it on the table, enjoying watching Kyoko eat her favorite food with such joy.  _She only_ thinks _she no longer has the innocent and pure heart of a child now.  Just because she experiences negative emotions like envy and hatred—emotions that even children feel at times.  She’s grown so much…matured…both as a young woman and an actress…but she still has the captivating spirit of a child._

“Ren!”  Kyoko yells at the actor, scowling at him.  “You’re not eating.  You’re just watching _me_ eat!  _That_ won’t fill your belly!”

“Alright, alright.”  He picks up his chopsticks and begins to eat.  But there is something he wants to ask her about.

“Kyoko…in your scene today with Higurashi…I’ve never seen you cry like that before.  You seemed truly heartbroken.  Do you mind telling me what you thought of?”

“Well…I couldn’t call up the pain from Sho because I’m too over him and too happy to be with you now.  So I did the next few by recalling the video shoot with Sho where I imagined that I was killing Moko-chan’s lover, and my friendship with her by doing so.  But it stopped working after a while.  Then, on the last take…I imagined that scene again—but this time, instead of seeing Sho’s face, I saw _yours_.  I saw myself killing _you_ with my bare hands.”

Ren is both surprised and touched.  “Kyoko,” he says, “I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this…but you really are a first-rate actress.  And I’m proud of you.”

Kyoko nearly jumps out of her seat, hearing those words from Tsugura Ren!  She thanks him repeatedly, tear-buds of joy lining her eyes, and he pats her head.  “Ok, settle down now, Kyoko, and finish your hamburger steak.  We have to get back soon for the next scene.”

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	8. Chapter 8:  Lust and Lunch

Ch 8  Lust and Lunch

Scenes over for the day, the two actors pull into Kyoko’s driveway.  Ren bends over for his goodnight kiss…but gets a shock when he receives it.  _Kyoko_ slides _her_ tongue across _his_ bottom lip.  It excites him terribly, but surprises him too.  He pulls back from her just a little, to look into her face.

“I…I wanted to try it too,” she says nervously.  “W-was it bad?”

“No, quite the contrary.  You just surprised me.”

“Um…Ren?  Do-do you like my outfit?”

“I do.  It’s lovely on you.  And sexy, too.”  He gives her a sly half-smile. 

“Oh, I’m glad.  I wore it with only you in mind.  I want to wear things that make you want to touch me.”

“Oh, Kyoko…I would still want to touch you if you were wearing a garbage bag!”

Kyoko grins at him.

He puts his lips to hers again, and Kyoko repeats her former action.  Ren “mm’s” his pleasure as his pulse—and a certain part of his body—rise.  He then opens Kyoko’s mouth with his own, and enters it with his tongue.  Kyoko is taken aback, but she finds it thrilling.  She moans, and follows his lead, running her tongue around with his.  He tastes of green tea and the man himself, like the way he smells beneath added-on odors such as cologne, deodorant, and shampoo.  Ren thinks the same thing about _her_ taste.

Ren begins to rub his hands up Kyoko’s bare arms, over the short sleeves, and onto her naked shoulders.  He then turns one hand around to rub the exposed skin of her chest above her top’s neckline with the back of it, while the other begins to creep up one of her legs.

Kyoko feels like her heart will burst if it beats any harder!  But Ren, too, has a jackhammer heart at the moment. 

Ren’s hand reaches the edge of Kyoko’s short skirt, and he _knows_ he should stop now.  But Kyoko is moaning, wrapping her arms around his neck across his arms, not even _trying_ to resist.  Thus he bravely begins to push the fabric upward, as his chest-hand dips just below the gathering at the top of her shirt, teasingly skimming from side to side, just above her strapless bra.  His leg-hand makes it all the way up Kyoko’s thigh when she breaks the kiss to cry out—in pleasure.  However, Ren mistakes it for a stop sign, and moves his whole body away from her. 

“I-I’m sorry, Kyoko,” he says to his steering wheel, struggling to catch his breath, “I-I got caught up in the moment.  I went too far.  Please forgive me.”

“N-no, y-you didn’t…” a breathless Kyoko manages.  “I-I didn’t mean to scare you.  That sound just came out of me from nowhere, I swear!  It felt…good.  Really good.  _Really really good._ Please don’t feel bad!”

Facing Kyoko again, he can see she means it.  She’s breathing hard, her face is burning red, and her eyes are filled with passion—and concern, for him.  He’s relieved, but still thinks he should have stopped before going that far.  He gives Kyoko one more kiss—a chaste one—and then says, “Well I guess it’s time for you to go now anyway, huh?  It’s so late.  I know you don’t have any scenes tomorrow, but you do have class.  You still have to get up early.”

“O-ok.  Um…I guess I’ll see you for lunch, then, right?” she asks hopefully.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” he replies with a light smile.

With one last quick kiss, the couple part ways for the night.

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Ren drives home in quite the state.  But by the time he’s made it home, his body has settled down.  He dons his nightclothes and heads to bed.  But as soon as he closes his eyes, his mind fills with images of Kyoko.  Remembering her taste, her smell, the feel of her skin…he’s helpless against the onslaught.  With a heavy sigh, he gets out of bed and heads for the shower again, once more turning only one dial.  After that, once finally able to sleep, his head fills with the same images he had frozen himself for—and then some.

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Kyoko isn’t faring any better.  Her heart won’t slow down, her breathing won’t settle, her stomach won’t stop flitting about, and between her thighs, there’s a hot pulsation that won’t die out.  She can’t stop thinking about tonight’s experience with Ren.  Tossing and turning, she tries to distract herself with anything and everything she can think of—including picturing Sho.  But even _that_ fails, as his face just morphs right back into Ren’s.  _Ya know,I heard that men take cold showers for situations like these…I wonder if it would work for me?  I guess I’ll try it and see…_

She jumps in the shower with the cold water on full-blast—and shrieks.  _Now I know why they do it!  It kills every sensation in your body!  Two minutes in here and I won’t be able to tell I_ have _a body!_

After enduring the shower for as long as she can, she gets back into her pj’s and into bed, shivering.  But she soon warms up, and the thoughts that get her hot and bothered return.

 _I can’t take much more of this.  I want to_ be _with him.  But he keeps backing off.  I know we’ve just barely started dating officially, but I’ve loved him from afar for so long and now…Ren, can’t you tell that I don’t_ want _to wait any longer for you?  Your teasing is just keeping me from sleeping, and what sleep I_ do _get is filled with steamy dreams of you…_

That’s when a naughty little plan hatches in her head.  But she doesn’t care how bold or bad it is.  She intends to get what she wants, one way or another.

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At lunchtime the next day, as Kyoko and her fellow students are pulling out their bentos or rising to head for the cafeteria, a famous face shows up in the doorway.  “Kyoko!” he calls.

“Ren!”  She beams at him.  The other students stop dead in their tracks and fall completely silent.

Ren then walks over to Kyoko’s desk and plops a wrapped bento onto her desk, and turns an empty desk in front of her around to sit at—which looked quite strange, a 6’3 twenty-two-year-old stuffing himself into a high school desk—and plops another one down in front of himself.  All those quiet students then burst into a frenzy of whispers, but neither Kyoko nor Ren even notice them.

Ren smiles at Kyoko, who now looks quite surprised.  “I thought since you’ve cooked for me so much, I’d try cooking for you for once.  Is that alright?”

Kyoko smiles happily, quickly shoving her own bento that she was in the middle of retrieving back into her desk.  “Of course!”

“I’m not as good a cook as you are, but I hope you like it.  It’s a Makunouchi.  Rice, pickled plums, broiled salmon slices, and rolled egg.  I didn’t have quite enough room to add any vegetables, sorry.”

“This is a wonderful surprise, Ren!  Thank you!  So, shall we?  Itadakimasu!”

“Itadakimasu!”

By the time the couple is halfway through their lunches, the rest of class has quieted down to eat themselves, or have finally gone on to the cafeteria.  But Kyoko’s meal gets interrupted as _another_ unexpected guest arrives in the doorway.

“Mo-ga-mi!!” she growls, an angry scowl on her face.

“Moko-chan!”  Kyoko runs up to her friend and squeezes her, even knowing the girl is angry for some reason.

“Why are you hugging me?!  Can’t you see I’m mad at you?”

“But why?”

“Why, you say?  I haven’t seen you since our last scene together and you didn’t even bother to TEXT me about this?”

“About what?”

“ABOUT YOUR NEW BOYFRIEND, YOU BAKA!  Don’t you think that’s something you ought to tell your best friend about??”

Kyoko’s eyes swim.  _She said she was my best friend…_

Knowing what Kyoko is thinking by the delighted grin on her face, Moko growls.  “As usual, you’re not listening and completely missing the point!  Why didn’t you tell me you were dating Tsugura Ren?”

Kyoko bows to her friend in apology.  “I’m so sorry, Moko-chan!  I’ve been a bad friend!  I mean I was busy with the movie and school, I didn’t have much time, but I still should have at least sent you a text.  Forgive me?”

“Hmph!  Alright.  But only after you tell me _everything!_   I want to know exactly how this came to happen!  Got that?  Enjoy your lunch with Tsugura-san.  I have work to do.”

“I promise to call you soon, Moko-chan!  Thanks for coming to see me!”

The girl practically skips back to her seat to finish her meal.  Ren had watched the whole thing go down with great amusement, his arms across his chest.  He enjoyed seeing Kyoko so happy, and he knew that ‘Moko-chan’ was Kyoko’s first real friend of her life, so it felt kind of special to see it in action.

The couple finish their bentos, with Kyoko declaring every bite delicious.  She is so happy that Ren had made this food just for her that it would have tasted heavenly to her even if it had been rolled through mud.  Finally, lunchtime is over and they say their good-byes.  Ren risks embarrassing Kyoko a little with a kiss on the cheek before he turns around and leaves.  But Kyoko just grins at his back, forgetting altogether that there were other people in the room.

Girls rush over to Kyoko, rapid-firing questions and comments about her and Ren’s relationship.  Kyoko is overwhelmed and doesn’t know how to react or what to say.  She gets flustered.  Finally, she stands up, slapping her hands on the desk.  “YES, I’M DATING TSUGURA REN, OK?  THAT’S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW!”

No one else in class had ever heard Kyoko yell like that outside a set, and their mouths are shocked shut.  They take their seats and start whispering amongst themselves again, but leave Kyoko alone.  Kyoko regains her smile in the quiet, looking down at her empty bento box.  Ren not only made a bento especially for her, he had come all the way to her school to eat with her, not caring who saw or who thought what about it.  _He really did mean what he said…” you are_ not _my dirty little secret.  You’re my girl!  And I want everyone to know it!  As for what they think we’re doing…I couldn’t care less!”_

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After school, Kyoko knows she should go straight home and do as much make-up work as possible for school, considering the movie shoot had gotten her behind in class—and she really wants to graduate with the rest of her class if she can.  However, she knows Ren is shooting a scene with Higurashi, Ko’s sister Lo, about this time, and she really wants to watch for just a little while.  Not to mention she has _another_ reason for going to the set—a more nefarious one.  She promises herself she won’t stay long, and will work hard on her schoolwork after she gets home until it’s time to implement her plan.  And that is exactly what she does.


	9. Chapter 9:  Angst and Passion

Ch 9 Angst and Passion

Kyoko puts on her shoes and an unseasonable trench coat, and slips outside to fetch a taxi.  Once at Ren’s, she ditches the shoes and jacket in the genkan, and quietly unlocks his front door with the key she _still_ has possession of.  She tiptoes to Ren’s bedroom, and flips on the lamp at his bedside.

Ren jumps upright, startled.  Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he asks in astonishment, “Kyoko?  Wh-what are you doing here?  Do you know what time it is?”

“Yes, I do.  And I came for you.”  She bears a mischievous but honest smile, and blushing cheeks.

“Hey…is…is that…it looks like…”

“Yes, it is.  It’s the robe and nightgown from the make-up scene we did for the movie.  I borrowed it from Wardrobe.  You…you said in your unscripted lines that I looked… _beautiful--_ and even _bewitching_.   S-so…I-I was pretty sure you’d like it.”

Ren sighs, putting his hand to his forehead and looking down.  He then turns his body so that he is sitting in the bed with legs hanging off and feet on the floor, and then he looks back up at Kyoko.

“Listen, Kyoko…I meant to talk to you today, but you were too busy with make-up work at home, so I was going to wait until tomorrow.  But apparently I have to do this now.”

“Wh-what are you talking about?  Y-You’re making me nervous!”

“Listen, Kyoko…I know it’s my own fault, but…we’ve been moving way too fast.  I mean we just _barely_ started dating!  I think we need to slow down.”

“But why?!  I _want_ to be with you!  I don’t care how long we’ve been a couple _officially._ I’ve loved you from a distance for so long…to me, nothing we’ve done seemed too fast at all!”

“That’s just your hormones talking!  This is all new to you, so you’re feeling things any teenage girl _would_ with a guy she liked!  I mean, if Sho had done these things with you when you were crazy about _him,_ you’d have felt the same way!”

Kyoko slaps Ren, hard.  _For the second time_.  “Don’t you _dare_ EVER compare my feelings for him to my feelings for you!  What I feel for you is an _ocean_ deeper than that; there _is_ no comparison!  I was just a stupid _kid_ who was blindly _infatuated_ with Sho!  What I feel for _you_ is nowhere _near_ the same!  Ya know, Sho used to touch me all the time, casually of course, whenever he was around and I never thought twice about it.  But all _you_ have to do is lay your hand on my shoulder and I shiver!  I never felt this way about Sho and never _could_ have!  I’m not the same dumb little girl I was back then!  I’ve grown up, or haven’t you noticed?  I _know_ what I want!”

Ren is understandably shocked.  And he has to admit she is making some good points--but he still isn’t convinced that what she is obviously planning is a good idea, or even truly her own.  After all, had he kept a respectable distance from her ever since the love scene, he doubts she would be standing by his bed in the middle of the night right now.

“When Sho tried to steal your first kiss and I told you it was nullified, you vowed to guard your chastity with your life!  Now you’re sneaking into my bedroom?  You may _think_ it’s your own idea, but that’s misguided because…you wouldn’t be here right now if I had kept my hands and mouth to myself since we got together!  If we do what you seem to be here for, I guarantee you that you will end up regretting it and hating me!”

“You’re wrong!  When I vowed to protect my chastity, it was only _for the right man,_ baka!  And that’s you!  And let me tell you something else, buddy!  During that scene we did…I didn’t touch you like that because it was scripted!  I forgot all about the damn thing!  I forgot we were even being filmed or that anyone was watching!  I mean, it was something I had already been wanting to do!  If you hadn’t kept moving forward after we got together, this little midnight visit might have been delayed—a _little bit_ —but it still would have happened!  Ren, I have been _yearning_ for you and dreaming about you even before that scene, and ten times more since!  I’m here of my own free will, absolutely _certain_ of what I want!  There’s no way I could _ever_ regret it!”

Ren considers her words carefully, looking back down.  When he looks back up at her, he admits quietly, “I’m scared, Kyoko.  I don’t want to hurt you, and I don’t want to lose you.  I’ve heard so many stories…she’s willing at the time, and then regrets it and blames him for taking advantage of her and stealing something precious and irreplaceable from her.  I don’t want to be that guy, or you to be that girl!”

“Oh, Ren, I’m not one of those girls.  Those girls have _doubts_ to start with!  Then they blame the guy because they’re too immature or embarrassed to take responsibility for their own mistakes!  You could _never_ take advantage of me, and you can’t steal something from me that I give you willingly because I _want_ to.  Your fears are groundless.  You know me better than anyone else, Ren… _trust me!”_

Ren looks up again.  “Are…are you sure?”

Kyoko smiles reassuringly.  “Absolutely.  Zero doubt.”

Ren stands up.

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Kyoko leans down and presses her lips to Ren’s, reaching both hands up to his head—slipping her fingers beneath his wig, sliding it off to run her fingers through his real hair.  Ren simultaneously puts his hands on Kyoko’s sides.

Then Kyoko pulls back from Ren’s face.  “Let me see your eyes,” she whispers.  Ren drops his hands from Kyoko’s sides as the girl backs up, allowing Ren space to get into his bedside table drawer to retrieve his lens case.  He takes out his lenses, and peers up at Kyoko again, with his _real_ eyes.

“You’re beautiful  just the way you are…” Kyoko whispers, inching her face toward his again, “Kuon.”  As their lips meet again, her hands once again finger-combing through his blond hair, Ren reaches around her arms to her back and unties her obi.  Then he pulls her hands from his head, placing her arms back at her sides…to slowly slide the robe down them.  Kyoko pulls her head back from their kiss to look into Ren’s shimmering green eyes.  Ren then stands up, looking down into _Kyoko’s_ eyes, full of passion and love.  He takes hold of her arms, now down at her sides, and bends in for another kiss.  He rubs up the length of her arms, massaging her shoulders when he reaches them.  His kiss turns more passionate, and Kyoko lifts her now-moveable arms up to place her hands on Ren’s chest.  She immediately begins to unbutton Ren’s pajama top, and he moans into the kiss.  Once his shirt is undone, Kyoko begins to glide her hands over his bare skin, working her way up to his shoulders.  Ren responds to the contact by turning the kiss into a tongue-kiss, making Kyoko moan as she begins to rub his bare back through his open shirt.  Ren moves his hands up into and through Kyoko’s hair, enjoying its smooth texture.  Then Kyoko gently forces Ren’s arms down out of her hair to remove his top, sliding her hands slowly down the muscular limbs. 

Ren then places his hands on the exposed part of Kyoko’s chest, sliding them down to the top of the V-type neckline of her gown as Kyoko caresses his back.  Then he bravely ventures to use those hands to cup Kyoko’s breasts over the fabric, causing Kyoko to break from the kiss and throw her head back in pleasure with a cry, letting go his back.  Ren’s thudding heart races even faster, thrilling to her reaction to his touch and the feel of her upper body through the cloth of her nightwear. 

Then Ren lets go Kyoko’s breasts to wrap his arms around her and crush her body into his, letting her feel his arousal unabashedly, rubbing her back and bottom.  Kyoko resumes exploring Ren’s back and shoulders…and bravely ventures to feel his bottom through the silk of the lower half of his pajama set.  Her breath is coming in pants, her veins flooding with a drastic increase of blood.  Ren’s own respiration is just as heavy, his pulse mimicking hers.

Then Ren takes hold of the hem of Kyoko’s nightdress, sliding the fabric up her legs, taking in the feel of her bare thighs as he takes the garment up higher and higher.  Then he moves his hands to Kyoko’s front, his hands spreading across her stomach as he continues to lift the nightie.  Kyoko “aaah’s” in excited delight, as Ren “mmm’s” his own pleasure at the feel of her bare belly.  He runs his hands around to her back, and roams the bare skin there for a moment before returning to the front—to pull the nightie up to the gathered bottom of the bodice just below her breasts.  Kyoko begins to pant furiously in anticipation.  Ren pokes his thumbs just under the gathering, barely skimming the bottoms of Kyoko’s breasts.  “D-don’t tease,” whimpers Kyoko.  With that, Ren pulls the nightie up over Kyoko’s chest, taking hold of her bared breasts with his hands as he does so.  “Oh, God,” he growls, as Kyoko calls out his name—his _real_ name—and digs her nails unconsciously into his back.  He runs his fingers over her hardened nipples, making her utter almost inhuman sounds of pleasure.  Finally, he lifts the garment up the rest of the way, making Kyoko’s arms move from his body to raise straight up for full removal of the material.

Ren moves back a step and takes in the sight with his pearlized jade eyes, making Kyoko squirm a little under his heated gaze.  Then Ren furiously kisses Kyoko, massaging her breasts with both hands.  Kyoko daringly uses her freed arms then to take hold of Ren’s pajama bottoms…and pulls them down, revealing matching black silk boxers.  Ren steps out of the cloth now gathered around his ankles and kicks it away.  Then he takes his lips from Kyoko’s to start kissing and gently sucking down her neck—toward her surging bosom beneath his hands.  Then he drops his hands from her breasts to hold her sides as his lips edge closer to their mark.  Kyoko’s legs nearly give out when his mouth covers one peak and he begins to lick and suckle at her, and she is glad his arms are now holding onto her sides to help support her.  She moans his name repeatedly, stuttering on it.  “K-Koun…K-K-Koun…”  But she wants to touch him too…she begins to rub his bottom, more able to make out the feel of him through only slinky boxers. 

Ren then switches his attention to the other breast—and Kyoko takes a great leap of bold faith out of both curiosity and passion—she places one shaky hand onto his erection in the front and begins to slide up and down the shape hidden beneath the thin silk.  Ren’s head pops right off Kyoko’s body, straight up and thrown back with a gasping moan.  Kyoko wonders for a moment if she did something wrong, or perhaps even hurt him to make him move away from her like that, but his next move reassures her.  He whisks her off her feet into his arms, and gently lay her onto his bed, topping her body with his, his strong arms holding the majority of his weight off her.

He positions himself so that he is face to face with her, making his trunk reach below hers due to their height difference.  Kyoko wraps her legs around his belly and instinctively begins to grind into him as he starts kissing her with fervor.  After a few moments, Ren halts the kiss and moves his body up, aligning his lower half with hers, putting her face below his chest.  He rocks his hardness up and down across her panties, causing her to suck in a sharp breath.  She starts to kiss his chest, running her hands across his back and shoulders. 

Then Ren suddenly moves onto his side, supporting himself on one arm, and crawls down Kyoko’s body with the hand attached to the other.  Kyoko feels like she will pass out if she breathes any harder.  When Ren reaches the hem of her white cotton panties, he hesitates.  Kyoko looks up at him and gives him a nod.  He hooks his fingers under the waistband, and pulls the underwear down and off.  Then he stealthily slides his hand back up over her leg until he reaches his destination.  Finally there, he strokes between her folds, making her tilt her head hard backward into the bed with a sharp intake of air and raise her lower half.  Ren is taken aback by both her unexpectedly erotic response and at her apparent readiness for him--surprised by the dampness there.  He wonders how ready she is _inside._   He inserts two fingers and gasps at the hot wetness there, and the total lack of physical resistance.  Kyoko cries out as he begins to pump in and out.  Just to be sure he won’t hurt her later, though, he adds another digit, which she readily accepts.  He then removes his hand from her body and reaches for his boxers—only to have his hand grabbed by Kyoko’s.  He panics, thinking she’s changed her mind, full of regret now--but then she slides her hand down his to his waistband.  Now understanding—not fearing—he maneuvers his body so she that she can remove the garment herself.  Kyoko stares with amazement at his arousal and tentatively reaches for it, but hesitates—looking up into his eyes to make sure it’s ok.  He smiles at her, and places his hand over hers, putting it where she was heading.  Kyoko runs her hand up and down his shaft, making her pant even more furiously than she already was—not to mention him.  Soon, however, neither of them can take it much more. 

Ren removes Kyoko’s hand, and adjusts his body over hers in the right place for entry.  With a shaky breath in, he thrusts inside.  Kyoko calls out his name, and seeing that she didn’t feel (or notice) any pain, he begins to rock.  He had never felt anything so exciting and deeply moving in his whole life, with _any_ woman he’d ever been with.  Kyoko had nothing to compare it to, but she felt just as extremely excited and deeply moved as he did.  But after only a few moments, Ren can’t take not being able to see Kyoko’s face.  So he flips them over, backing himself up against his backboard—a little scrunched up, but he didn’t mind so long as he could see Kyoko’s eyes.  Her face had never looked more beautiful, flushed with desire and love just for him, giving him a pleasure she would never give to anyone else.  He kisses her again as he takes hold of her sides to help lift her up and down on him.  Kyoko uses her legs to push off the bed and help out too.  She then releases Ren’s lips to lean her head back, moaning in ecstasy.  When she tilts her head forward again, looking straight into Ren’s sparkling eyes, she begins to chant his name.  “K-Kuon…Kuon…Kuon…”  Tears begin to form in her _own_ eyes.  Ren’s already pounding heart doubles in speed seeing and hearing such love, all for him.  The _real_ him.  He begins to chant her name back as his pace quickens.  “Kyoko…K-K-Kyoko…Kyo-ko…” 

Tears now falling freely, Kyoko, with haltering speech, says, “I-I l-love you…K-Kuon.”  Then her wet eyes close as she climaxes with a wail.  Heartbroken in a good way, and intensely pleasured physically inside Kyoko’s clamping and releasing body, Ren reaches his own zenith a moment after her, her name on his lips.

Kyoko collapses onto Ren’s heaving chest, breathing heavily and softly crying.  Ren pets her head lovingly, and breathlessly says, “Kyo-ko…I-I love you, too.  More than…I can say.”

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In Ren’s giant tub full of bubbles, the couple with irrepressible smiles on their faces talk about everything under the sun, telling each other about parts of their lives the other knows little or nothing about; their hopes and dreams for their futures; their worries and fears.  Then Ren suddenly gets a panicked look on his face, making _Kyoko_ panic.  “Oh my God, Kyoko, I’m such an irresponsible idiot!  Why the hell didn’t I think of this?!”

“Wh-what is it, Kuon?  You’re scaring me!”

“I didn’t think to use a condom!”

Kyoko sighs with relief.  “Is that all?  Don’t worry about it.  I have an IUD.  I can’t get pregnant.”

“What?!  You mean you’re on some type of birth control?  When did you…”

“As soon as I realized I was in love with you.  I never thought this would ever happen in a million years, but I also never dreamed I’d become an actress, either, so I decided to be prepared, just in case.”  She grins at him.

“Wow.  Well I’m very glad you did that.”

“But it wasn’t easy!  I had to go to a million clinics to find a doctor willing to do it!  This kind of birth control isn’t too popular here, especially for women who haven’t had any children yet.  And I have to go back for regular check-ups to make sure it is staying in place.  But it was the cheapest kind of birth control available here, and it lasts five years, unless you have it taken out.  It still cost a lot, though.  I had to borrow money to pay for it.  It’s not covered under our National Insurance, ya know.”

“May I ask who you borrowed the money from?  I mean…wouldn’t they have wanted to know what it was for?  Surely you wouldn’t say…”

“Well, since my debt for the acting school had already been paid off, President Takarada was willing to loan the money.  I just told him I needed it for something important that may someday dramatically impact my life and acting career but the details were personal.  He said that was fine, and that I could pay him back as I got money in from acting jobs.”

Ren laughs.  “You really _are_ something else, Kyoko.  Getting the President of the company you work for to loan you money for _birth control!_   No one but you would even _try_ such a thing!  You’re adorable.  Although the way you said it, it almost sounded like you were asking for abortion money!”

Kyoko laughs.  “Really?  Do you think so?  I hope that’s not what he actually believes it was for…”

“Nah, I’m sure not.  He wouldn’t suspect _you_ of all people to have that problem.”

“Well, I sure hope you’re right!”

The two laugh together.

“Kuon…is it…is it alright if I stay here tonight?  I brought clothes for tomorrow…”

“I was hoping you would,” Ren replies with a warm and sincere smile.

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Kyoko finally gets to fall asleep to the sound of Ren’s heartbeat, her head on his chest and his hand petting her hair.  They both sleep like exhausted babies, completely content in one another’s arms.  They awaken happy and refreshed in the morning, and head to work _together_.


	10. Chapter 10:  Epilogue

Ch 10 Epilogue

“Kyoko, do you mind if I pick you up around nine tonight?  I know that’s a little late, but there’s something I want to show you and I can’t do it any earlier than that…”

“Of course!  Can you tell me what it is?”

“Nope!”  He gives her an impish smile.  “I’ll see you then.”

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They get to Ren’s door, and he unlocks it.  Kyoko is dying of curiosity as to what it is Ren wants to show her.

They enter the dark house, and Ren flips on the light.

“It’s in the dining room.”

Ren tells Kyoko to close her eyes.  She obeys.  When he says, “open”…he flips on the light, to reveal a dozen faces seated around the table, a feast of food covering it.  They all yell “surprise!”  Kyoko is shocked—but confused.

“Wh-what…is all this?”

“This is your graduation party!”  Ren beams at her.  “I had to make it late in order to accommodate everyone’s schedules.”

Kyoko is moved.  Seated around the table were all her friends from work…Moko-chan, Amamaya-san, President Takarada, Tenten –san, Director Ogata, Sawara-san, Yashiro-san, and some of the actors and actresses she had worked with.

“Are you surprised, Kyoko?” asks Ren.

“H-hai!” she replies with glee, her eyes glossy.

Ren seats her and takes his own seat next to her, and the party begins.  After everyone gorges themselves on the food, Kyoko is given small gifts, with words of congratulations.

Kyoko’s eyes fog up as she thanks everyone repeatedly.

Once the guests leave, Ren says, “And now for _my_ gift.”  He hands her an envelope.

Kyoko excitedly opens it—she couldn’t imagine what sort of gift would fit inside of an envelope other than cash, which she knew it wasn’t, but _anything_ from Ren is special.

There inside she finds two plane tickets—to America.

With astonished, wide eyes, she asks, “Y-you’re taking me…to America?”

“Yes.  For three days, plus the travel time.  I’ve already cleared both our schedules for the trip with the President.  It’s next week.  I hope you’re excited…I don’t know how much interest you really have in the States, but I thought you’d enjoy a little vacation overseas pretty much anywhere.  Was I right?”

“Are you kidding me?  You grew up in America!  I’m going to _love_ getting to see your place of origin with you!  This is by far the best gift of the night!  I-I don’t know what to say…’thank you’ falls too short…”

“Well,” says Ren suggestively, “you could _show_ me…”  He’s giving her his bedroom eyes and sly half-smile, looking irresistible.

Kyoko returns the look, and goes up to him to take him by the hand, wordlessly leading him to his bedroom.

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“Well, here we are, Kyoko!”

“But this isn’t a hotel…it’s a house!  Is it one of those bed-and-breakfast things I’ve heard about?”

“Well, we _will_ have a bed here and breakfasts here…now let’s go in.”

Kyoko can tell he’s keeping something from her, but his smile tells her it’s something good, so she quizzes him no further.

Ren knocks on the door, and a familiar face opens it.  Kyoko nearly falls over when she sees Hizuri Kuu—Ren’s father!

“Good to see you again, Mogami Kyoko!” Hizuri says with a Japanese bow.  Kyoko returns it.  “Won’t you come in and meet my wife?”

 _He-he’s taking me to meet his_ parents??  _I can’t believe it!_

“G-good to see you again, too, Hizuri-san,” Kyoko says, offering him her hand to shake, knowing it is the customary greeting in America.  Kuu shakes her hand with a smile, and leads the two into the house, closing the door behind him.

When Juliena sees Ren—as her son Kuon—she runs up to him with tears in her eyes, hugging him flat. 

“M-mother, it’s good to see you again too.  But uh…remember, I brought someone here with me I want you to meet.”

“Oh, of course!” she says.  “Forgive me, Mogami-san, it’s very nice to meet you.”  She too bows as the Japanese do, and after returning it, Kyoko tells her how nice it is to meet her as well—once again holding her hand out for an American shake.

For the next three days, Kyoko gets to know Ren’s parents as they get to know her, and they all get along splendidly.  Kyoko asks them to call her by her first name without any honorifics, and they ask her to do the same with them.

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On the last night there, Ren has one last surprise for Kyoko.  After dinner that night, Ren’s parents turn in early, overly cheerfully in Kyoko’s opinion.  Then when Ren and Kyoko are alone, Ren gets down on one knee before Kyoko, seated on the couch.  He pulls out a small velvet box. 

Kyoko knows what this is, and her heart jumps into her throat.  It’s the traditional American way of doing it, but she doesn’t mind that at all.

“Kyoko,” Ren begins, “you are the woman I love and I want to wake up to your face every day for the rest of my life.  Will you…marry me?”  He opens the box, revealing a gold ring with a moderate-sized teardrop diamond on it—big enough to be obvious what it is, but not so large that it’s gaudy or ostentatious.

Kyoko’s jaw and eyes are open wide.  She’s so stunned, she can’t find her voice, making Ren nervous.

After a moment, though, it comes back to her.  “Hai!!  Hai, hai, hai, hai!  Of course, hai!”  Tears begin to fall from her eyes as an elated Ren slips the ring onto her finger.

“I know most Japanese women don’t wear their engagement rings to keep other women from getting jealous, so I understand if you want to take it off when we get back to Japan.”

“You’d have to cut my finger off to get this ring off me!” replies Kyoko, deadly seriously.  “My _friends_ won’t be jealous, they’ll be happy for me!  And I don’t _care_ about anyone else!”

Ren beams.  He gets up from the floor to sit next to her on the couch.

“You’ll have to decide now what kind of wedding you want to have, Western-style or traditional Japanese—and whether or not you want to take my last name.”

“Don’t have to think about it.  I want to wear one of those gorgeous American wedding dresses and have the ceremony in a church, and I want Hizuri!”

Ren smiles.  “I was hoping you would say that.”

“Oh, but what about my acting career?  I can’t use Hizuri without exposing you…”

“You can choose a stage name, ya know.  You can keep Mogami for that.”

“What if I…chose Tsugura?”  She looks at him nervously.

He smiles at her.  “I hadn’t thought of that.  Yes, I would like that very much!”

“Oh, wait…there’s one more problem…you were born and raised in America!  That means you’re not a Japanese citizen, officially, and can’t get—“

“I became one already.  When I turned twenty, I went through the whole long process, and I’m now officially a Japanese citizen.  We can legally get married there.”

“Oh, I’m glad.  Just one more thing…usually people are officially married just by signing documents at the courthouse and then they have the ceremony like six months later.  Do you think we could plan this so that we can sign the papers and then immediately have the ceremony?  I mean I know we’d be in line all day, so it would have to be a night wedding ceremony, but…”

“Sure.  I don’t mind at all.  Let’s set a date as soon as we get back and start the planning!”

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Sho glares at the tv screen.  Tsugura Ren was being interviewed about his recent engagement to actress Mogami Kyoko.  He grits his teeth as his anger burns.

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Ren and Kyoko are walking down the hall together at LME when suddenly Kyoko’s arm is grabbed and she is whipped around.

It’s Sho, huffing with rage.  “You’re just doing this to spite me, aren’t you?!” he spits.

Ren, having now turned around himself, says darkly, “Take your hand off my fiancee’s arm!”

Sho ignores Ren.  Never turning his attention from Kyoko, he yells, “You still belong to me!”  He yanks her arm, making her stumble forward, closer to him.

“I said get your hand off my fiancee’s arm!” Ren yells back, elbowing Sho’s forearm, causing him to release Kyoko.

The two men glare at each other.

“Fine!”  Sho shouts.  “Ya know what?  You can have her!  She’s nothing but a plain, stupid girl with no sex appeal!”  He turns around and starts tromping away.

Ren stares after, thinking to himself, _How many times did this beautiful woman hear that until she believed it?_

Something in him snaps.  He swiftly catches up to Sho, turns him around by the shoulder, and punches him right in the eye.

Shocked at himself, he turns to Kyoko, who had run after him, and explains, “I’m sorry, Kyoko.  That wasn’t * _him*,_ I swear!”

Kyoko puts her hand on his shoulder.  “I know, Ren,” she says, “Because I can see * _your*_ eyes.”  She walks over to Sho, butt on the ground, recovering from the blow, and crouches in front of him.  She puts her hand on his arm.

“I’m not doing this to hurt you, Sho.  I’m not mad at you anymore.  I forgive you for everything.  But I don’t belong to you.  I _love_ Ren.  He’s a good man.  He makes me happy.  So if you care about me at all…be happy _for_ me.”

Sho stares at her sincere eyes for a moment, then gets up and walks away wordlessly.

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Everyone who had been at Kyoko’s graduation party is sitting in the pews of the church, along with the people Kyoko had lived with while in Tokyo, and Sho’s parents, who had raised her in her mother’s stead—and even _Ren’s_ parents, who didn’t really stand out, because many other famous faces were also in attendance.  But one person is a total surprise—Sho.

Kyoko comes down the aisle in a beautiful white wedding dress, netting over her face, carrying her bouquet—looking stunning.  Ren looks dashing in his tux.  The ceremony is beautiful, and every bit the American wedding—except that the preacher uses Tsugura Ren instead Hizuri Kuon, of course.  They were officially wed under the law at the courthouse earlier that day with Ren’s real name.

When it comes time to throw the bouquet…none other than Moko-chan catches it!  She doesn’t look too happy about it, but Kyoko is _thrilled_.

The just-wed couple get into Ren’s car after the ceremony—with an enormous crowd of fans and the press being held at bay by security—and drive to an expensive upscale hotel to make love as husband and wife for the first time.  Then they take a short honeymoon—in Kyoto, camping in the woods where they first met.  Neither could be happier.

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Sho watches the newly-married couple leaving the church on tv with dismay.  It’s big news, Tsugura Ren getting married.  He can’t escape it.  He had shown his support for Kyoko by having been there, but he isn’t happy about it.  He’s sitting alone, depressed.  And angry—at himself.  _What have I let go of?  What have I lost forever?  If only I had been a better person…Kyoko, I’m sorry.  I really did love you.  Despite how I treated you…you were always someone special to me._

Then there is a knock at his door.  It’s his manager.  She knew the repeat showings of the bride and groom on tv would upset Sho and had come to see him.

He’s actually very glad to see her—more so than he would have thought he’d be.  He turns off the tv, and begins a conversation with her.  _She’s always there for me…no matter what, or how I act.  This woman, too, really is special._ He smiles.

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Kyoko looks around her room.  She’s there to pack up her things to move in with Ren.  The Sho poster and voodoo dolls of him were long discarded, but Ren’s picture is still on her wall, and she still has the dolls of him.  She wonders if she should keep them.  They mean something to her now, though she once used them for evil, but if Ren ever found out about them… She picks them up, one in each hand.

“Kyoko,” she hears from the doorway in a familiar voice and turns to face it.

“Kyoko…are those… _voodoo dolls_ …of _me_?” he asks darkly.

Kyoko is shocked and embarrassed.  She doesn’t know what to say.  She opens and closes her mouth in attempted speech, but nothing coherent comes out.

Ren bursts into laughter.  “Only you, Kyoko.  Only you.”

Seeing Ren is not upset about the dolls, Kyoko smiles back at him.  She’s glad he loves her oddities.  And now she knows she can keep the dolls!


End file.
